Court Opinion

ID: 9755745
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:49:15.357461+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:17.319698
License: Public Domain

COOPER, Justice,
dissenting.
This case involves a balancing of the public’s “right to know” against society’s interest in shielding the records of a child’s juvenile misdeeds from public scrutiny. Appellee Foster wants to know the date and nature of every disciplinary action administered against a student by the Board of Education and the nature of the offense for which the action was taken. The majority opinion orders the public release of this infoi-mation, essentially grounding its decision on the policy statement set forth in KRS 61.871:
The General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 [Open Records Act] 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. (Emphasis added.)
*870One exception “otherwise provided by law” is that all juvenile offender records be sealed.
All law enforcement and court records regarding children who have not reached their eighteenth birthday shall not be opened to scrutiny by the public,
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KRS 610.320(2). The statute contains exceptions, but none pertinent to our inquiry. Certainly, there is no exception for release of juvenile records to the press for general publication.
Another exception “otherwise provided by law” is KRS 160.720(2):
Educational institutions shall not permit the release or disclosure of records, reports, or identifiable information on students to third parties other than directory information as defined in KRS 160.700, without parental or eligible student consent .... (Emphasis added.)
Like KRS 610.320(2), the statute contains exceptions, specifically KRS 160.720(2)(e), which creates an exception for:
Individuals or organizations conducting legitimate studies, surveys, and data collection in such a manner so as not to ■permit personal identification of the students or parents. (Emphasis added.)
KRS 160.725(1) permits public access to “directory information,” defined in KRS 160.700(1) as, inter alia, “the student’s name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, ... dates of attendance . . ."
KRS 61.878(1)(k) [formerly KRS 61.878(1)(j)] specifically excludes from the Open Records Act “[a]ll public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited by federal law or regulation.” The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1), the federal counterpart to KRS 160.720(2), provides:
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 ...) of students without the written consent of their parents .... (Emphasis added.)
“Personally identifiable information” is defined as (a) the student’s name (b) the name of the student’s parent or other family member; (c) the address of the student or student’s family; (d) a personal identifier, such as the student’s social security number or student number; (e) a list of personal characteristics that would make the student’s identity easily traceable; or (f) other information that would make the student’s identity easily traceable. 34 C.F.R. § 99.3 (emphasis added).
The issue boils down to whether the information sought by Foster, coupled with directory information regarding dates of attendance, would make “easily traceable” the identity of a student subjected to school disciplinary action, often for conduct which did or could subject that same student to juvenile court proceedings. The answer, of course, is “yes.” It would not require a professional sleuth to identify an expelled student by comparing the date of expulsion provided in the information sought by Foster with the dates of attendance contained in the directory information. If a particular student’s attendance terminated on the date that a student was expelled, it would be readily apparent that the student whose attendance terminated was the same student who was expelled. While it might be more difficult to trace an expelled student’s identity in a school with a large student body, today’s ruling applies to all Hardin County schools, regardless of size.
*871The statutes and regulations quoted above reflect a policy and intent to shield the misdeeds of school students from public scrutiny much the same as our criminal statutes shield the records of juvenile offenders. Today’s decision directly contravenes that policy and intent; accordingly, I dissent.