Attention in the Penn State sex abuse scandal shifted during the past week to lawyers’ legal moves to prevent the youth charity at the center of the case from shutting down.

The lawyers in question want The Second Mile, the charity founded in 1977 by Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach charged with molesting at least eight boys over a 15-year period, to remain solvent so they can file future lawsuits for Sandusky’s alleged victims.

Regardless of how that plays out, it was proper for people keeping track of developments in the Sandusky case to wonder why there hasn’t been an update from the university on the fate of students who committed criminal acts during a Nov. 9 demonstration protesting the firing of longtime football coach Joe Paterno. Thousands of students took to the streets, some overturning a television news van and throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at police and others.

Specifically, what is the status of the investigation involving the students — both the police and university probes?

So far, how many students have been criminally charged, and what actions has the university taken against them?

In the days after the protest, investigators said numerous students could be charged with riot, attempted arson or other counts.

Since the university is funded with state taxpayer dollars — about $228 million annually — taxpayers are entitled to such information.

University officials, in the wake of the grand jury report dealing with Sandusky, pledged openness in all aspects surrounding the case. The situation involving the rioting students, although separate from Sandusky’s alleged misdeeds, is not outside the realm of the taxpayers’ right to know.

Likewise, when the final chapter of the Sandusky case is brought to a close, Penn State officials should inform the public of the monetary cost of the case — the amount paid out by the university as well as the amount paid by university insurance carriers who might be on the hook as a result of what allegedly occurred to Sandusky’s alleged victims.

Troubling on Wednesday was a Pittsburgh newspaper’s report that the university was hiding behind its exemptions connected with the state’s Right to Know Law and denying access to records that would shed light on spending decisions the school is making amid the current crisis.

It’s going to be years before a final compilation of the university’s financial hit from the Sandusky scandal will be possible. But the Pittsburgh newspaper’s request wasn’t and isn’t out of order and should be honored.

Presumably, most of the punishment has been, or is close to being, meted out to the student protesters of Nov. 9. It’s time for the university to issue a status report and pledge a final report if one is not yet available.

Unfortunately, it appears Penn State already is reneging on its pledge of openness, and the university isn’t going to benefit from that attitude.