CHICAGO -- The University of Illinois asked for a stay Tuesday on a federal court ruling that it contends would threaten the privacy of student records.

The UI also said a March 9 order by Judge Joan B. Gottschall could result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal funds the UI receives every year.

UI attorneys filed a motion in U.S. District Court requesting a stay of the order, which requires the UI provide student records sought by the Chicago Tribune and The News-Gazette in Illinois Freedom of Information Act requests.

The motion seeks a stay of Gottschall's order pending the outcome of a review by a three-judge appellate panel.

The Tribune filed the lawsuit after a 2009 Freedom of Information request forced the release of 1,800 pages of documents, known as "Category I" student information. The News-Gazette is not part of the lawsuit.

The UI complied in part with the FOIA request, but blacked out student names and other information, arguing that federal law prevented it from revealing that data. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is intended to protect the privacy of student records.

But Gottschall ruled that FERPA does not require that applicants' names, grade point averages and admissions test scores be withheld.

"The only question presented by this lawsuit is whether FERPA 'specifically prohibits' the requested disclosure. The court must follow the command of the Illinois Supreme Court to construe the exemptions to FOIA narrowly. FERPA does not specifically prohibit Illinois from doing anything, so the university may not use federal law as authority to withhold the records," Gottschall wrote.

The UI argues that the Department of Education enforces the law and, in at least one previous case, has sued to stop the release of the information.

"This basically negates FERPA completely," said UI lawyer Samuel Skinner, a former Secretary of Transportation. "We're concerned it erodes all kinds of privacy rights, and leads on a slippery slope" to such consequences as identity theft.

But Don Craven, general counsel to the Illinois Press Association, agreed with the Tribune's argument that is seeking the records of applicants, not students.

Gottschall wrote that FERPA doesn't prohibit the release of education records, and even if FERPA did prevent the release of the requested documents, the First Amendment protects the newspaper's access to public records.

The judge put particular weight on that argument. The judge said the "decision in this case is a narrow one."

But the UI argues that in practice, the failure by a college or university to comply with FERPA can result in the forfeit of DOE funding, including federal grants and student financial aid, the UI said.

UI spokesman Tom Hardy noted that in 2010, the UI received $146 million in student financial aid and other grants from the federal Education Department, and it administered another $449 million in federal student loans.

Craven said he is not aware of any actual cases when FERPA violations resulted in loss of grants or aid.

Skinner said that privacy was paramount to the university.

"They're asking for information that parents couldn't get without a waiver from their own child," Skinner said.

With grade point and ACT information, "we're thinking of the privacy rights of those who have applied, been admitted and who have graduated," he said.