June 24, 2010

Mr. Tyler F. Wallach

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, 3rd Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2010-09338

Dear Mr. Wallach:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 389491 (PIR No. W001139).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for the requestor's personnel records. You state that some responsive information has been released to the requestor. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.122 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

You assert that the submitted test questions and model and actual answers are excepted under section 552.122(b) of the Government Code, which excepts from required public disclosure "a test item developed by a . . . governmental body[.]" Gov't Code § 552.122(b). In Open Records Decision No. 626 (1994), this office determined that the term "test item" in section 552.122 includes any standard means by which an individual's or group's knowledge or ability in a particular area is evaluated, but does not encompass evaluations of an employee's overall job performance or suitability. Whether information falls within the section 552.122 exception must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Id. Traditionally, this office has applied section 552.122 where release of "test items" might compromise the effectiveness of future examinations. Id. at 4-5; see also Open Records Decision No. 118 (1976). Section 552.122 also protects the answers to test questions when the answers might reveal the questions themselves. See Attorney General Opinion JM-640 at 3 (1987); ORD 626 at 8.

Having reviewed the submitted information, we find that the questions evaluate the individual's specific knowledge or ability in a particular area, thus qualifying as "test items" under section 552.122(b) of the Government Code. We also find that release of the model and actual answers to these test items would tend to reveal the questions themselves. Therefore, the city may withhold the submitted information pursuant to section 552.122(b).

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/dls

Ref: ID# 389491

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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