Opinion ID: 2337114
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exemption Status

Text: The requested information is not exempt from disclosure. The Open Records Act, KRS 61.871, states in pertinent part: ... [T]hat the basic policy ... is that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.878 or otherwise provided by law shall be strictly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others. The public agency that is the subject of an Open Records request, has the burden of proving that the document sought fits within an exception to the Open Records Act. KRS 61.882(3) and University of Kentucky v. Courier Journal, Ky., 830 S.W.2d 373 (1992). The statute demonstrates a general bias favoring disclosure. See Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychologists v. Courier-Journal, Ky., 826 S.W.2d 324 (1992). The Court of Appeals correctly held that the Hardin County School System had not sustained its burden. KRS 61.878(2) provides that no exemption in this section shall be construed to prohibit disclosure of statistical information not descriptive of any readily identifiable person. Here, the statistical compilation sought by Foster does not identify individual students and therefore is not descriptive of any readily identifiable person contemplated by the statute. The statistical compilation of disciplinary actions is not an educational record within the meaning of FERPA. 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1) states in pertinent part that: No funds shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy or practice of permitting the release of education records (or personally identifiable information contained therein other than directory information, as defined in paragraph [5] of subsection [a] of this section) of students without the written consent of their parents to any individual, agency or organization.... An educational record is defined in the FERPA as those records, files, documents and other materials which contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution. 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(4)(A). The statistical information requested by Foster does not contain any information which directly relates to a particular student and thus is not an educational record within the meaning of the federal statute. As noted by the Court of Appeals, the information sought by Foster and the newspaper does not identify the names of any student nor reveal personal characteristics. The identity of the school, year of occurrence, reason for the disciplinary action and the type of action does not directly relate to any particular student. Personally identifiable information would include information that makes the identity of the student easily traceable, such as a name, address or personal characteristics. See 34 C.F.R. § 99.3. It is only in a case where the requested records pertain to a single student that courts have held that a record contained personal identifiable information. Such is not the case here because Foster and the newspaper requested a statistical compilation, not individual records. It is not necessary for this Court to dwell on the important public policy question that disciplinary statistics should be disclosed. The public in general, the residents of the community, and most certainly the parents of children attending a particular school system have a strong interest in the conduct of disciplinary procedures in their school. The potential and reality of violence in our school system is brought sharply to our attention by the tragedy in Heath. Discipline, order and respect for legitimate authority is essential in the school system. Clearly, in today's changing society, a vital piece of information for parents and students is the school policy regarding disciplinary measures. The General Assembly has established a public policy that provides that every student should have access to a safe, secure and orderly school that is conducive to learning. KRS 158.440. To the extent that local school districts must collect and analyze data to provide for school safety and discipline the disclosure of the information sought in this open records request is proper. Therefore, the Hardin County Schools are required to release the records of the student disciplinary hearings without redacting the particular school and offense that appear on those records. It should be understood that Hardin County Schools must redact all information that would reveal any personal characteristics of the student, including name or age, or information that would reasonably lead to identification of the student. The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed. LAMBERT, C.J., GRAVES, JOHNSTONE, STUMBO and WINTERSHEIMER, JJ., concur. COOPER and KELLER, JJ., dissent by separate opinions.