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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 - 2 of 2

Advisory Opinion 96-048

November 12, 1996; School District 721 (New Prague)

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 District 721 violate Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13 when a District employee disseminated data contained in a Rice County Suspected Child Abuse/Neglect Form about a student and his/her father to the student's mother? (The disseminations allegedly occurred in February or March of 1995, and in the fall of 1995.) Did the apparent destruction of educational data (school counselor's notes) by a District 721 employee violate the rights of access pursuant to Section 13.04, subdivision 3, of the student and her/his father? Did District 721 violate Section 13.04, subdivision 3, by failing to provide the following data about a student and her/his father upon their May 24, 1996, request for access to data: data contained in a Rice County Suspected Child Abuse/Neglect Report and data contained in a Rice County Child Abuse Interview on School Property notification? Did District 721 violate Section 13.05, subdivision 5, by failing to ensure that data contained in the following documents about the student and her/his father are accurate, complete, and current: the school counselor's notes, a Rice County Suspected Child Abuse/Neglect Report, and a Rice County Child Abuse Interview on School Property notification? Did District 721 violate Section 13.04, subdivision 3, by failing to notify the data requestors that the District would require an additional five days to respond to their May 24, 1996, request?

Category: Data subjects, Educational data, Records management/retention

Keywords: Data subjects, Educational data, Records management/retention, Complete and current 13.05, Data access to data subject, Parent of dependent adult student, Instructional personnel, Notes, "desk drawer notes", Education data, Records retention schedule, Security safeguards (13.05, subd. 5)

Commissioner: Elaine S. Hansen

mn.gov/admin/data-practices/opinions/library/opinions-library.jsp?id=36-267394

Advisory Opinion 93-012

December 30, 1993; School District 624 (White Bear Lake)

Note: In December 1999, staff of the Information Policy Analysis Division, on behalf of the Commissioner, redacted not public data from this opinion. The redaction ...

Description: Must the school district provide X's parents a copy of a report or notes about an incident/dispute involving their child and family which was created by a school district employee? Minn. Stat. Sec. 13.04, Subd. 3.

Category: Educational data

Keywords: Educational data, Instructional personnel, Notes, "desk drawer notes", Parent data

Commissioner: Debra Rae Anderson

mn.gov/admin/data-practices/opinions/library/opinions-library.jsp?id=36-267376

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