January 31, 2010

Ms. Andrea Sheehan

Ms. Elisabeth A. Donley

Law Offices of Robert E. Luna, P.C.

4411 North Central Expressway

Dallas, Texas 75205

OR2011-01575

Dear Ms. Sheehan and Ms. Donley:

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# 407536.

The Carrollton-Farmer's Branch Independent School District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for the feedback cards submitted to the superintendent's grading task force by district staff members at fourteen specified campuses, which pertain to the district's draft grading procedures. ⁽¹⁾ You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.111 and 552.117 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 does not consist of the requested feedback cards. The district need not release nonresponsive information in response to this request, and this ruling will not address that information.

Section 552.111 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "an interagency or intraagency memorandum or letter that would not be available by law to a party in litigation with the agency." This exception encompasses the deliberative process privilege. See Open Records Decision No. 615 at 2 (1993). The purpose of section 552.111 is to protect advice, opinion, and recommendation in the decisional process and to encourage open and frank discussion in the deliberative process. See Austin v. City of San Antonio, 630 S.W.2d 391, 394 (Tex. App.--San Antonio 1982, no writ); Open Records Decision No. 538 at 1-2 (1990).

In Open Records Decision No. 615, this office re-examined the statutory predecessor to section 552.111 in light of the decision in Texas Department of Public Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ). We determined that section 552.111 excepts from disclosure only those internal communications that consist of advice, recommendations, opinions, and other material reflecting the policymaking processes of the governmental body. See ORD 615 at 5. A governmental body's policymaking functions do not encompass routine internal administrative or personnel matters, and disclosure of information about such matters will not inhibit free discussion of policy issues among agency personnel. Id.; see also City of Garland v. Dallas Morning News, 22 S.W.3d 351 (Tex. 2000) (section 552.111 not applicable to personnel-related communications that did not involve policymaking). A governmental body's policymaking functions do include administrative and personnel matters of broad scope that affect the governmental body's policy mission. See Open Records Decision No. 631 at 3 (1995).

You assert the responsive information consists of feedback cards containing the opinions, advice, and recommendations of district employees pertaining to the district's policy making processes. You explain the district solicited feedback cards from district employees to be used by the district in the formulation of its final grading procedures. Upon review of your arguments and the information at issue, we find the district has established the responsive information constitutes advice, recommendations, opinions, or material reflecting the policymaking processes of the district. Accordingly, the district may withhold the responsive information under section 552.111 of the Government Code. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument 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# 407536

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note that the district received clarification regarding this request. See Gov't Code § 552.222(b) (governmental body may communicate with requestor for purpose of clarifying or narrowing request for information).

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