Haskell records request unmet

More than two months after Haskell Indian Nations University acknowledged the school was the subject of a federal investigation for falsifying ACT scores for athletes, no new information has been provided about the case despite numerous interview and open records requests.

An anonymous letter to the Journal-World in May prompted Haskell officials to issue a news release that provided vague information about the investigation into falsified student-athlete ACT scores. The release stated that employees were “disciplined for manipulation of three other student transcripts” but did not specify what those actions were or which sports were involved.

Haskell President Chris Redman scheduled — then canceled — several interviews since May. He has declined requests for an interview pending the results of an open records request filed by the Journal-World on May 18 with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The request asked for any reports related to investigations of academic misconduct in the Haskell athletic department.

On June 25, the Journal-World received a response from the Bureau of Indian Affairs stating that the request was sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General for review. According to the response, the Office of the Inspector General had 20 business days to provide the information, or ask for a time extension. As of Monday, the 23rd working day since the response, the Journal-World has not received further information. A spokeswoman with the Office of the Inspector General said reasons for the delay were unclear, and no timetable was set for providing information.