Facts and Procedural History:

On December 12, 2012, the Information Policy Analysis Division (IPAD) received an advisory opinion request from Tim Finnegan. In his letter, Mr. Finnegan asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding his requests for access to certain data from Independent School District (ISD) 625, St. Paul. IPAD asked for additional information, which Mr. Finnegan provided on January 31, 2013.

In response to Mr. Finnegan's request, IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Valeria Silva, Superintendent of ISD 625. The purposes of that letter, dated January 31, 2013, were to inform her of Mr. Finnegan's request and to ask her to provide information or support for the District's position. Nancy L. Cameron, Deputy General Counsel for the District, responded on February 25, 2013. A summary of the facts follows. Mr. Finnegan wrote in his opinion request:

I am requesting your consideration in issuing an advisory opinion to the Saint Paul Public School District, ISD 625, for refusing to comply with Minnesota Statute 13.025, Subdivisions 1, 2, 3, and 4.

I tried to get information from the school district's Executive Director of Human Resources, Tim Caskey on how to file a data request with ISD 625. Mr. Caskey referred me to Board Policy 304.00 which only states who the Responsible Authority is. Mr. Caskey went on to state that "Detailed procedures for access to public data do not exist in a single written document. Nevertheless, the District follows the procedures set out in Minn. Stat.13.03, subd. 3. ...."

IPAD asked Mr. Finnegan to direct his data request to Valeria Silva, the superintendent for the District, before accepting his opinion request. (A person's rights under Chapter 13 are invoked when the person makes a request for access to government data to the responsible authority/designee of the government entity.) He did so on December 18, 2012.

Mr. Finnegan provided the Commissioner a copy of Board Policy 304.00, which states that the responsible authority for the District is the superintendent, but does not identify Ms. Silva by name.

Issue:

Based on Mr. Finnegan's opinion request, the Commissioner agreed to address the following issue:

Discussion:

Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 2(a) states, "[t]he responsible authority in every government entity shall establish procedures, consistent with this chapter, to insure that requests for government data are received and complied with in an appropriate and prompt manner." Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1205 also provides guidance about access procedures for members of the public and data subjects.

The responsible authority shall prepare a written data access policy and update it no later than August 1 of each year, and at any other time as necessary to reflect changes in personnel, procedures, or other circumstances that impact the public's ability to access data. [Emphasis added.]

Subdivision 4 provides:

The responsible authority shall make copies of the policies required under subdivisions 2 and 3 easily available to the public by distributing free copies to the public or by posting the policies in a conspicuous place within the government entity that is easily accessible to the public or by posting it on the government entity's Web site. [Emphasis added.]

In her comments to the Commissioner, Ms. Cameron wrote that Mr. Caskey, in response to Mr. Finnegan's request for the written data access policy required per section 13.025, subdivision 2, wrote to Mr. Finnegan in August, 2012:

You have asked for copies of the District's procedures, as defined by Minn. Stat. section13.03, subds. 2(a)-(b). The District has designated the Responsible Authority to be the Superintendent. See Board Policy 304.00. You can obtain Board Policy 304.00 at [website address].

Detailed procedures for access to public data do not exist in a single written document. Nevertheless, the District follows the procedures set out in Minn. Stat. section13.03, subd. 3. In addition, pursuant to District practice, if data is requested, the requester must put the request in writing and send it to the Responsible Authority. Sometimes, requesters send data requests directly to District personnel - e.g., to the Director Office [sic] of Communications, Executive Director of Human Resources, General Counsel, etc. The Responsible Authority or other person assigned to respond to the request, complies with [Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13] by following the procedures in Minn. Stat. section13.03, subd. 3 and by responding to the request within a reasonable time. If clarification is needed, clarification is sought from the requester. If no clarification is needed, the District typically invites the requester to inspect the data, if public, or informs the requester that the data is not public and the legal reason for that conclusion. If copies or electronic transmittal are requested after inspection, the District requires the requesting person to pay the actual costs of searching for and retrieving government data, including the cost of employee time, and for making, certifying, and electronically transmitting the copies of the data or the data. However, if 100 or fewer pages of black and white, letter or legal size paper copies are requested, the District charges 25 cents for each page copied. If the District is not able to provide copies at the time a request is made, copies are supplied as soon as reasonably possible.

Ms. Cameron wrote to the Commissioner:

These written procedures provided by the Executive Director of Human Resources accurately describe how the District handles requests for data under [Chapter 13] and meet the requirements of the law. They (1) were in writing, (2) provided the specific procedures used by the District for access by data subjects to public or private data on individuals, and (3) were distributed for free to [Mr.] Finnegan, as a member of the public. ....

The Commissioner has previously opined on the statutory provisions requiring access procedures (see Advisory Opinions 94-002, 04-049, 05-003). Here, Mr. Finnegan requested the procedures required by sections 13.025 and 13.03 from the District. According to Ms. Cameron, Mr. Caskey's response (reproduced in its entirety above) complied with the District's obligations under section 13.025. The Commissioner respectfully disagrees. Mr. Caskey's response to Mr. Finnegan did not fulfill the District's obligation to produce a "written data access policy" that "is easily available to the public."

Furthermore, it ought not to be difficult for members of the public to identify a government entity's responsible authority. The statement in the District's Policy 304.00, that the superintendent is the responsible authority, does not comply with the requirement under statute and rule that the District appoint a specific individual as responsible authority, and so identify that individual in the public document required. (See section 13.025, subdivision 1, and Minnesota Rules Part 1205.1200, subpart 2.)

Note: References to footnotes and exhibits omitted.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, the Commissioner's opinion on the issue Mr. Finnegan raised is as follows:

Signed:

Spencer Cronk
Commissioner

Dated: March 19, 2013.