Advisory Opinion 00-020
June 16, 2000; School District 32 (Blackduck)
Background & Issues
A school district received a public records request for a petition signed by over forty students criticizing a school employee, which had been read aloud at a school board meeting. The district had also received a separate petition signed by teachers concerning state graduation standards. The district asked how the data in both petitions are classified and whether a redacted copy of the student petition could be released to the public.
Commissioner Decision
The Commissioner decided that the information in both the student petition and the teacher petition is private. However, the district may release a redacted version of the student petition if the request specifically asks for the petition rather than for complaint data regarding an employee.
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Excerpted Ruling / ConclusionBased on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issues raised by Ms. Olsen and Mr. Madsen is as follows:
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 13.43 and 13.32, the data contained in the student petition are private data.
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, if the District received a request for a copy of the student petition, the redacted version may be released to the public. If the District received a request for data about a complaint made against an employee, then the data are private.
Pursuant to section 13.43, subdivision 4, the data contained in a petition signed by District teachers regarding state graduation standards are private personnel data.
June 16, 2000; School District 32 (Blackduck)
6/16/2000 10:15:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of IPA and, except for any data classified as not public, are available for public access. On April 28, 2000, IPA received a letter from Gloria Blaine Olsen and Gregory S. Madsen, attorneys for Independent School District 32, Blackduck. In this letter, they asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data maintained by the District. A summary of the facts of this matter follows. More than 40 District students signed a petition criticizing a District employee. The petition was read aloud at a School Board meeting but not distributed to the public. The District has received a request for a copy of the petition. The District also received a petition signed by District teachers asking the Board either not to follow or to reevaluate the State's graduation standards. Issues:In their request for an opinion, Ms. Olsen and Mr. Madsen asked the Commissioner to address the following issues:
Discussion:The first petition, signed by District students, contains a complaint about a District employee. Data on public employees are termed personnel data and are classified at Minnesota Statutes, section 13.43. Public personnel data are listed in subdivision 2; all other personnel data are private. Data on students are termed educational data and are classified at section 13.32. With few exceptions, educational data are private. Data on students are also classified under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g. The fact that a complaint has been made about an employee, and the status of the complaint, are public data, pursuant to section 13.43, subdivision 2(a)(4). The nature and substance of the complaint are not public, unless the District has taken final disciplinary action against the employee as a result of the complaint. (See section 13.43, subdivision 2(a)(5).) Ms. Olsen and Mr. Madsen did not provide information regarding the status of the complaint. The petition links student names with their opinions about the employee, and action the students think the District should take. Such data do not fall under any of the exceptions provided in state or federal laws classifying data on students as private. Accordingly, the data about the students contained in the petition are private. In the redacted version of the student petition provided to the Commissioner, identifying data about the employee and students were removed, but details of the nature and substance of the complaint remain. The right of a member of the public to gain access to the data in the petition depends upon the specific request. If, as Ms. Olsen and Mr. Madsen indicate, the request was for a copy of the petition, then the District may provide a copy of the petition as redacted. However, if the request was for data about the complaint made against the employee, then the only data that are public is the fact of the complaint and its status, unless there has been final disciplinary action taken. (The Commissioner discussed the importance that the specific nature of the request can have on the accessibility of data in Advisory Opinion 95-005.) In addition, under a provision of the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, if the petition was made part of the official record of the School Board meeting, then the petition is public. In relevant part, section 471.705, subdivision 1d (a), provides: [d]ata discussed at an open meeting retain the data's original classification; however, a record of the meeting, regardless of form, shall be public. (Emphasis added.) The teacher petition contains the names of District teachers linked with their opinions about District policy. Such data are not classified as public under a strict reading of section 13.43, subdivision 2. Therefore, the data in the teacher petition are private, pursuant to section 13.43, subdivision 4. However, as with the student petition, a different result comes about if the employee petition was read into the record of the School Board meeting. If it were, then it too becomes public data under the open meeting law language. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issues raised by Ms. Olsen and Mr. Madsen is as follows:
Signed: David F. Fisher
Dated: June 16, 2000 |