August 23, 2012

Mr. Orlando Juarez, Jr.

Attorney for Zapata County Independent School District

Escamilla, Poneck & Cruz, LLP

216 West Village Boulevard, Suite 202

Laredo, Texas 78041

OR2012-13382

Dear Mr. Juarez:

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# 467441.

The Zapata County Independent School District (the "district"), which you represent, received a request for certain documents and communications pertaining to a specified investigation. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.114 and 552.117 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exceptions and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we address your statement that the commission has withheld some records pursuant to FERPA. The United States Department of Education Family Policy Compliance Office has informed this office that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") does not permit state and local educational authorities to disclose to this office, without parental or an adult student's consent, unredacted, personally identifiable information contained in education records for the purpose of our review in the open records ruling process under the Act. ⁽¹⁾ Consequently, state and local educational authorities that receive a request for education records from a member of the public under the Act must not submit education records to this office in unredacted form, that is, in a form in which "personally identifiable information" is disclosed. See 34 C.F.R. § 99.3 (defining "personally identifiable information"). You state the submitted information contains student-identifying education records that are protected under FERPA. Because our office is prohibited from reviewing these records to determine whether appropriate redactions under FERPA have been made, we will not address the applicability of FERPA to the submitted information. See 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(1)(A). Such determinations under FERPA must be made by the educational authority in possession of the education records. Likewise, we do not address your argument under section 552.114 of the Government Code. See Gov't Code §§ 552.026 (incorporating FERPA into the Act), .114 (excepting from disclosure "student records"); Open Records Decision No. 539 (1990) (determining the same analysis applies under section 552.114 and FERPA). However, we will consider your remaining argument against disclosure of the submitted information.

Section 552.117 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure the home addresses and telephone numbers, emergency contact information, social security numbers, and family member information of current or former officials or employees of a governmental body who timely request that this information be kept confidential under section 552.024 of the Government Code. Gov't Code § 552.117(a)(1). We note post office boxes are not "home addresses" for purposes of section 552.117 and may not be withheld on that basis. See Open Records Decision No. 622 at 6 (1994) (legislative history makes clear that purpose of section 552.117 is to protect public employees from being harassed at home) (citing House Committee on State Affairs, Bill Analysis, H.B. 1979, 69th Leg. (1985)). Therefore, no portion of the submitted information may be withheld under section 552.117. As you raise no additional exceptions to disclosure, the submitted information must be released to the requestor.

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,

Misty Haberer Barham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MHB/som

Ref: ID# 467441

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. A copy of this letter may be found on the Office of the Attorney General's website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/20060725usdoe.pdf.

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