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About Search Results
The advisory opinion library currently includes:
- Data practices advisory opinions issued by the Commissioner of Administration from 1993 to the present.
- Open Meeting Law advisory opinions issued by the Commissioner of Administration from 2003 to the present.
The Commissioner's authority is found in Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072. Opinions are nonbinding, but a court may give them deference in a court action. Parties to a court action that act in conformity with an advisory opinion are not liable for certain damages or attorneys fees.
A written, numbered, and published opinion issued by the attorney general shall take precedence over an advisory opinion issued by the Commissioner of Administration.
Results 1 - 8 of 8
Advisory Opinion 12-014
September 18, 2012; Stearns County
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.072 (2012). It is based on the facts and information ...
Description: A County asked whether
implementing a web-based automated crime mapping
program would violate the rights of data subjects. The
Commissioner opined that certain data subjects’ rights
could be violated by the automated system as
described by the County. The program, which uploads
law enforcement data to the program automatically
each evening, did not allow for the County to perform
its duty to exercise discretion in certain situations as
required by Minnesota Statutes, section 13.82.
Category: Law enforcement data
Keywords: Law enforcement data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual, Protected identities (13.82, subd. 17 / subd. 10)
Commissioner: Spencer Cronk
Advisory Opinion 07-004
January 22 2007; City of Minneapolis
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Did the City of Minneapolis comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, when it refused to provide the names of employees whose private personnel data was either removed or redacted from council members' and the Mayor's emails?
Did the City of Minneapolis comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, when it refused to provide the names of persons who corresponded with Council Members Glidden and Remington?
Category: Elected and appointed officials, Personnel data
Keywords: Elected and appointed officials, Personnel data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual, 13.601, Correspondence with elected officials, Employee name
Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
Advisory Opinion 07-001
January 10, 2007; School District 531 (Byron)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Did Independent School District 531, Byron, comply with Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, in denying access to the following data relating to a hazing incident: the particular athletic team involved, the nature of the alleged hazing, the number of students disciplined, and the disciplinary action taken?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: Dana B. Badgerow
Advisory Opinion 02-037
October 7, 2002; School District 761 (Owatonna)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 13 and 245, may Independent School District 761, Owatonna, as part of a grant application for funds related to implementation of a children's mental health collaborative, provide certain private data, without parental consent, to the Minnesota Department of Human Services?
Category: Data sharing, Educational data
Keywords: Data sharing, Educational data, Children's mental health collaborative, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual, Children mental health collaborative, MARSS (MN Automated Reporting Student System)
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
Advisory Opinion 01-053
June 20, 2001; School District 834 (Stillwater)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, did School District 834, Stillwater, respond appropriately to a request for the following data regarding school expulsions: age, grade level, sex, home town, race, and the act that led to the expulsion?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Expulsion, Summary data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
Advisory Opinion 00-014
May 3, 2000; School District 31 (Bemidji)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Does the position taken by School District 31, Bemidji, as described in the memorandum regarding "Sharing Information with the Media about Student Expulsions" affect the public's right to gain access to government data, as provided in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Expulsion, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: David F. Fisher
Advisory Opinion 98-020
April 29, 1998; School District 196 (Rosemount)
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, may ISD #196 release, as public data, multiple sets of summary data regarding students with common student identifiers that would allow for correlation or cross-referencing of the data, where the school district believes that such correlation could lead to the identification of the individual students?
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, may ISD #196 release, as public data, a copy of a teacher's grade book (with student names removed), which includes multiple elements of summary data correlated as to each student, where the school district believes that such correlation could lead to the identification of the individual students?
Category: Educational data, Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Educational data, Summary data, Grade book or testing data, Summary data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual
Commissioner: Elaine S. Hansen
Advisory Opinion 97-028
July 3, 1997; Minnesota Department of Children, Families, Learning
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data ...
Description: Is the MARSS database, with student names and social security numbers removed, summary data under Minn. Stat. 13.01, subd. 19?
If the MARSS database, with student names and social security numbers removed, is not summary data, is it otherwise public?
If the MARSS database, with student names and social security numbers removed, is not summary data, must the Department of Children, Families, and Learning prepare a summary version of the database for the Star Tribune?
If the Department does prepare such a summary version of the database, may it require the Star Tribune to pay for the cost of doing so?
Category: Educational data, Summary data
Keywords: Educational data, Summary data, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual, Combining data elements may uniquely identify an individual, MARSS (MN Automated Reporting Student System), Summary data, Costs
Commissioner: Elaine S. Hansen