January 5, 2011

Ms. Ylise Janssen

Senior School Attorney

Austin Independent School District

1111 West Sixth Street, Room A-240

Austin, Texas 78703-5399

OR2011-00224

Dear Ms. Janssen:

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# 405037.

The Austin Independent School District (the "district") received a request for information pertaining to a named former district employee. You state the district has released some of the requested information. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note a portion of the submitted information, which we have marked, is not responsive to the instant request because it was created after the date the request was received. The district need not release nonresponsive information in response to this request, and this ruling will not address that information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses section 261.201(a) of the Family Code, which provides as follows:

(a) [T]he following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

Fam. Code § 261.201(a). You seek to withhold the responsive submitted information in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201 of the Family Code. We note the district is not an agency authorized to conduct a chapter 261 investigation. See id. § 261.103 (listing agencies that may conduct child abuse investigations). However, you state the submitted information pertains to an investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect conducted by the district's police department. Based on your representations and our review of the information at issue, we agree that the submitted information is subject to section 261.201 of the Family Code. See id. § 261.001(1), (4) (defining "abuse" and "neglect" for purposes of Family Code ch. 261). You have not indicated that the district's police department has adopted a rule that governs the release of this type of information. Therefore, we assume that no such rule exists. Given that assumption, we conclude that the district must withhold the responsive submitted information in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201 of the Family Code. See Open Records Decision No. 440 at 2 (1986) (addressing predecessor statute). As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against disclosure.

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,

Jennifer Luttrall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JL/dls

Ref: ID# 405037

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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