Opinions by topic: (RECORDS) Scholastic

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• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-09 (3/31/2009): Scholastic records, by definition, are those records which contain information directly related to a student and maintained by a public body that is an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution. A denial of a records request must cite the specific Code section that authorizes the withholding of the records.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-11-08 (11/18/2008): A record that is not prepared, owned, or possessed in the transaction of public business is not a public record subject to FOIA. When conducting private business, public officials and employees (in this case, a university law professor) should avoid indicia, such as agency letterhead, that make private records appear to carry the imprimatur of a public body.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-08 (3/19/2008): FOI Advisory Council discusses exemptions on vendor proprietary records, security system manuals, and school safety audits. Also discussed: duty of government to seek clarification if records request is confusing; failure to identify the volume of records requested that are subject to an exemption; and improperly denying records based on the sheer volume of the request.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-05-07 (5/7/2007): The student government of a public institution of higher education is a public body subject to FOIA. The branches of student government are analogous to the organization of government generally (i.e., legislative, executive, and judicial). (Several other related issues discussed.)
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-05 (3/30/2005): personnel files at most governmental agencies are available to the subject of the records, but not if the subject is the employee of an educational agency.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-13-04 (7/14/2004): Personal records of a university theater department audition committee member are not disclosable under FOIA or FERPA, but any standardized evaluation forms must be released to the subject student. Records pertaining to audition guidelines or procedures would be available to anyone.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-33-01 (6/14/2001): According to the federal Family Policy Compliance Office, even if a school/university has designated certain student information as directory information, it can still withhold the information in its discretion.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-29-01 (6/7/2001): Parent is entitled to view school investigatory records relating to his/her child, but portions identifying other students, teachers or attorney-client privileged information may be withheld.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-13-01 (2/19/2001): Regarding directory information held by a school system and duties under FOIA when a requested record does not exist.
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-07-01 (1/31/2001): Videotapes taken from a camera mounted on a public school bus are not available for disclosure under FOIA or FERPA unless the written consent of every parent of every identifiable child is obtained.
• Wall v. Fairfax County School Board (9/13/1996): High school student election results are not official records subject to disclosure under FOIA.
• Attorney General's Opinion 1979-80 #389 (6/12/1980): Records of the identity of students participating in special education programs are exempt from disclosure under the scholastic records exemption. Nothing prevents intra-school board access to those records, though.
• Attorney General's Opinion 1975-76 #305 (5/28/1976): Scholastic record exemption still allows access to the students parents if the student is under 18, and to the parents and the student if he/she is 18 or older.
• Attorney General's Opinion 1974-75 #581 (6/25/1975): School-by-school results of scholastic achievement tests are open records.