December 5, 2000; School District 11 (Anoka-Hennepin)
12/5/2000 10:17:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of IPA and, except for any data classified as not public, are available for public access. On October 10, 2000, IPA received a letter from X. In this letter, X asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding his/her right to gain access to certain data maintained by Independent School District 11, Anoka-Hennepin. In response to X's request, IPA, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Dr. Roger Giroux, Superintendent of the District. The purposes of this letter, dated October 18, 2000, were to inform him of X's request and to ask him to provide information or support for the District's position. On November 15, 2000, IPA received a response from Paul H. Cady, District Legal Counsel. A summary of the facts of this matter follows. X's minor child, Y, is a student in the District. In a letter dated September 11, 2000, X requested copies of all itemized attorney bills relating to [Y] going as far back as the attorney's [sic] were involved. . . . According to X, I received four pages of so called itemized attorney bills . . . . Two of the pages are actually copies of itemized bills and two of the pages have no itemized billing of any kind (just a signature and a small statement) - at the top of the pages appear Page 11' Page 8.' X stated that the District charged him/her for copies of four pages of itemized attorney bills, although there is no billing information or documentation on two of the four pages. Further, X stated that the District did not provide all of the itemized attorney bills s/he requested. According to X, s/he attended three meetings in 1999 and 2000, with District personnel that included an attorney for the District. The District did not provide any itemized attorney bills for those meetings in response to X's request. X provided copies of the District's Notice of Conciliation Conference that indicate the persons expected to attend, including District Attorney. According to X, an attorney for a law firm representing the District was in attendance at all three meetings. In his response to the Commissioner, Mr. Cady wrote: [a]s part of its response to the request the District provided both the cover and signature pages set forth [sic] in the attorney bills. . . . . The District redacted information regarding other matters not responsive to the request. Consequently, it is the District's position that its response to the request for copies of attorney bills, including two pages that reflect cover and signature pages, was an appropriate response. According to Mr. Cady, the District's attorney bills contain file numbers, but do not identify individuals. The District was represented by legal counsel in a proceeding involving Y during the summer of 2000, and based on the information it had at the time and in response to [X's] September 11, 2000, request, the first identification of attorney representation appeared to be the May 15, 2000 matter referenced in the May bill. Mr. Cady stated that in X's opinion request, X has provided additional information which indicates that the District had legal counsel representation during the three meetings X mentioned. Mr. Cady stated that upon review of previous attorney bills, the District discovered bills for two of those meetings, copies of which are being forwarded to X. Mr. Cady said the omission of those bills was an oversight. He further stated: [i]t is apparent that this oversight could have been avoided had [X] followed up with the District with the information [X] provided the Department regarding [X's] knowledge of the presence of legal counsel during [Y's] meeting. Issues:In his/her request for an opinion, X asked the Commissioner to address the following issues:
Discussion:X requested copies of data of which X's minor child, Y, is the subject. Pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 8, individual includes the parent of a minor child. Accordingly, X may exercise Y's rights under section 13.04 to gain access to data about Y. The two pages X referred to contain only the following data: the name of the law firm employed by the District; the page numbers; and the following statement, signed by the firm's account manager: I declare under the penalties of law that this account, claim or demand is true and correct and that no part thereof has been paid. According to Mr. Cady, it is the District's position that inclusion of, and charging for, two pages that contained only the data noted immediately above was appropriate. We respectively disagree. X requested itemized attorney bill data about Y. A statement attesting that the attorney's bill had not yet been paid does not constitute data about Y. The District should not have charged X for copies of two pages that contained no data about Y. As to the second issue, according to Mr. Cady, the District's failure to provide X with all of the data requested about Y was due to an oversight, because the District maintains its attorney bills by file numbers, which do not identify individuals. Nonetheless, under section 13.04, X was entitled, upon request, to all the attorney billing data that related to Y. Mr. Cady also suggested that X might have facilitated the District's location of the data had X told the District that X had knowledge of the presence of legal counsel during [Y's] meeting. X may have been in a position to assist the District in its efforts to locate all of the data responsive to X's request, but X is not obliged under Chapter 13 to do so. However, the District is obligated to maintain its data in a manner that enables it to comply with a request such as X's. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issues raised by X is as follows:
Signed: David F. Fisher
Dated: December 5, 2000 |
