North Carolina | Courts
Defending Education has filed suit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Orange County Superior Court, alleging the university violated North Carolina’s public-records law by declining to provide course materials requested for 29 fall 2026 classes.
The organization submitted its first request on Oct. 16, seeking records from 19 courses. A second request on Oct. 23 covered 10 more courses. The requests included reading assignments, course plans, materials distributed by email and documents posted through Canvas.
University Directed Group to Syllabus Platform
According to the complaint, UNC-Chapel Hill closed both requests without producing further records and directed the group to Simple Syllabus. Defending Education contends that the platform does not include all of the materials it requested.
The lawsuit alleges the university did not perform a reasonable search for responsive public records. The requested classes span departments including African American studies, history, political science, sociology, and women’s and gender studies.
Courses named in the requests include Defining Blackness, Black Feminism, Feminism and Political Theory, Critical Food Studies, and Slavery and the University.
Group Cites Public-Records Obligations
Sarah Parshall Perry, Defending Education’s vice president and senior legal fellow, said the university’s use of its syllabus platform does not resolve its obligations under the state public-records statute.
“Taxpayers in the state have every right to know what their money is funding,” Perry said, adding that the group wants the university to comply with its statutory duties.
UNC-Chapel Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prior Request Sought 74 Classes
Defending Education was founded in 2021. The dispute follows a separate request last year by The Oversight Project, which sought materials from 74 UNC-Chapel Hill classes. The university denied that request on the grounds that faculty intellectual-property rights applied.