Request By:
Mr. Bill Brown
Superintendent
McCracken County Public Schools
Route 10, Box 1, Bleich Road
Paducah, Kentucky 42001
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Mr. William Keith Todd has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of his request to inspect certain public records in your custody. He describes the document in question as follows:
"Please send me a copy of the disciplinary recommendation resulting from the recent stabbing incident at Heath High School. I have been told Principal Don Werner has provided you and the board with a letter offering such a recommendation based on his investigation of the incident."
In your letter of May 17, 1985 to Mr. Todd, you advised him that his request for a copy of the disciplinary recommendation resulting from the stabbing incident at Heath High School, from Principal Don Werner to the McCracken County Board of Education, is denied. You based your decision on the provisions of KRS 61.878(1)(a), (h) and (j).
In his letter of appeal to this Office, Mr. Todd maintains that the privacy exemption is not applicable as he is not requesting the name of the person involved. He further maintains that exempted material should be separated from that material in the disciplinary recommendation which is not exempt. In addition, he states that reliance upon the provisions relative to juvenile court proceedings is not proper as they are not applicable.
Opinion of the Attorney General
KRS 61.878(1)(a) provides in part that among the public records excluded from the application of the Open Records Law are public records containing information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
While the undersigned has not seen the actual written recommendations of the high school principal, it is possible that merely marking out the individual's name would not be sufficient to protect his privacy. See OAG 83-286, copy enclosed, at page two. In addition, as we said in OAG 83-278, copy enclosed, an evaluative memorandum is exempt from public inspection under the privacy provision as a protection to both the author of the document and the subject of the document.
KRS 61.878(1)(g) and (h) provide in part that among the public records excluded from the application of the Open Records Law are:
"(g) Preliminary drafts, notes, correspondence with private individuals, other than correspondence which is intended to give notice of final action of a public agency;
"(h) Preliminary recommendations, and preliminary memoranda in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended;"
Both you and Mr. Todd describe the document in question as the high school principal's letter of a disciplinary recommendation to the County Board of Education. Unless this particular letter signifies the final report or decision or final action by the Board of Education or is incorporated into the final decision of the Board of Education, it is exempt from public inspection, pursuant to the above quoted provisions, as a document containing preliminary recommendations or expressing opinions or recommending policies. See OAG 84-118, copy enclosed.
In connection with the confidentiality of juvenile court proceedings we are enclosing a copy of OAG 79-652. Those provisions would not appear to be relevant to the factual situation with which this opinion is concerned.
In conclusion, it is the opinion of the Attorney General that your denial of the request to inspect the letter of a disciplinary recommendation from a school principal to the Board of Education was proper under the provisions of the Open Records Act. The denial appears to be covered by the privacy exemption set forth in KRS 61.878(1)(a). It is covered by the provisions of KRS 61.878(1)(g) and (h) relative to preliminary recommendations and documents expressing opinions or recommending policies, unless the document represents final action by the Board of Education or it is incorporated into the final decision or report of the Board of Education.
As required by statute a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requesting party who has the right to challenge it in circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).