Source: https://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f8512.htm
Timestamp: 2017-10-22 23:01:56
Document Index: 728744736

Matched Legal Cases: ['§86', '§87', '§87', '§1232', '§89', '§87']

I have received your letter of September 23 in which you sought an advisory opinion.
According to the materials attached to your letter, you requested from the Middleburgh Central School District "agendas for executive session that mention...or relate to" you covering the period of 1991 to the present. The request was denied by the District Clerk "based on a ruling from the State Education Department."
I am familiar with neither the ruling to which the Clerk referred nor the nature or content of the agendas that you requested. Nevertheless, I offer the following comments.
First, the Freedom of Information Law pertains to all records of an agency, such as a school district, and §86(4) of the Law defines the term "record" to mean:
As such, insofar as agendas pertaining to executive sessions exist, I believe that they constitute records subject to rights of conferred to the Freedom of Information Law.
Second, as a general matter, the Freedom of Information Law is based upon a presumption of access. Stated differently, all records of an agency are available, except to the extent that records or portions thereof fall within one or more grounds for denial appearing in §87(2)(a) through (i) of the Law. From my perspective, several of the grounds for denial may be relevant to the matter.
The initial basis for denial, §87(2)(a), pertains to records that are "specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal statute." One such statute, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. §1232g) generally precludes an educational agency from disclosing information personally identifiable to a student, unless a parent of the student consents to disclosure. While an agenda item might relate to you, insofar as disclosure could identify a student, I believe that it could be withheld.
Section 87(2)(b) enables an agency to withhold records to the extent that disclosure would constitute "an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." If, for example, a complaint was made concerning you, portions of the complaint which if disclosed would identify the complainant could in my view be withheld. I point out that, unless portions of records may otherwise be withheld (i.e., those identifiable to students or complainants or perhaps expressions of opinion) §89(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Law states in essence that you cannot invade your own privacy and that you may obtain records pertaining to yourself.
Lastly, §87(2)(g) permits an agency to withhold records that:
cc: Marie Campbell, District Clerk