November 2, 2012

Ms. Leticia D. McGowan

School Attorney

Dallas Independent School District

3700 Ross Avenue

Dallas, Texas 75204

OR2012-17596

Dear Ms. McGowan:

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# 469855 (ORR # 11421).

The Dallas Independent School District (the "district") received a request for all documentation relating to the complaints made by five named individuals pertaining to a named individual and the district and the subsequent investigations of those complaints. You state the district is withholding certain information pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). ⁽¹⁾ You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.135 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

We note, and you acknowledge, the submitted information was the subject of a previous request for information, in response to which this office issued Open Records Letter No. 2012-14856 (2012). We have no indication that the law, facts, or circumstances on which this prior ruling was based have changed. Accordingly, we conclude the district must continue to rely on this ruling as a previous determination and withhold or release the previously ruled upon information in accordance with Open Records Letter No. 2012-14856. See Open Records Decision No. 673 at 6-7 (2001) (so long as law, facts, circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure). As our determination is dispositive, we need not address your claimed exceptions to 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,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/tch

Ref: ID# 469855

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Open Records Decision No. 684 is a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

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