Juan Jefferson v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20201900)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 20, 2020 SPR20/1900 Charles Gallo Compliance Officer / Records Access Officer Lynn Public Schools City of Lynn 100 Bennett Street Lynn, MA 01905 Dear Mr. Gallo: I have received the petition of Juan Jefferson appealing the response of the Lynn Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Jefferson requested “a roster of all students who attended Lynn Classical High School during the 2019-2020 school year” containing two categories of information, date of birth and grade level. The School provided a response to Mr. Jefferson on September 30, 2020, providing the total number of students per grade level, and withholding student dates of birth pursuant to Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Jefferson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1900, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Charles Gallo SPR20/1900 Page 2 October 20, 2020 If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Current Appeal In its September 30, 2020 response, the School indicates that it is withholding student dates of birth pursuant to the privacy clause of Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. Exemption (c) Exemption (c) permits the withholding of: personnel and medical files or information; also any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(c). Second clause of Exemption (c) – privacy Analysis under the second clause of Exemption (c) is subjective in nature and requires a balancing of the public’s right to know against the relevant privacy interests at stake. Torres v. Attorney Gen., 391 Mass. 1, 9 (1984); Attorney Gen. v. Assistant Comm’r of Real Property Dep’t, 380 Mass. 623, 625 (1980). Therefore, determinations must be made on a case by case basis. This clause does not protect all data relating to specifically named individuals. Rather, there are factors to consider when assessing the weight of the privacy interest at stake: (1) whether disclosure would result in personal embarrassment to an individual of normal sensibilities; (2) whether the materials sought contain intimate details of a highly personal nature; and (3) whether the same information is available from other sources. See People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) v. Dep’t of Agric. Res., 477 Mass. 280, 292 (2017). The types of personal information which the second clause of this exemption is designed to protect includes: marital status, paternity, substance abuse, government assistance, family disputes and reputation. Id. at 292 n.13; see also Doe v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, 26 Mass. ---------------------------- App. Ct. 415, 427 (1988) (holding that a motor vehicle licensee has a privacy interest in disclosure of his social security number). This clause requires a balancing test which provides that where the public interest in obtaining the requested information substantially outweighs the seriousness of any invasion of privacy, the private interest in preventing disclosure must yield. PETA, 477 Mass. at 291. The

Charles Gallo SPR20/1900 Page 3 October 20, 2020 public has a recognized interest in knowing whether public servants are carrying out their duties in a law-abiding and efficient manner. Id. at 292. In its September 30th response to Mr. Jefferson’s request, the School states that “[y]ou have requested a roster of Lynn Classical High School students showing personally identifiable information, including dates of birth. Such information is being withheld for reasons of safety and privacy of the students, most of whom are minor children.” The privacy clause of Exemption (c) permits the withholding of certain data “relating to a specifically named individual….” G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(c). Although the School states that it has withheld “personally identifiable information,” it is unclear how the release of dates of birth and grade level information permits the identification of individual students. Additionally, it is unclear how disclosure of the requested information “would result in personal embarrassment to an individual of normal sensibilities,” and whether this information is available from other sources. See PETA, 477 Mass. at 292. Therefore, I find that the School has not met its burden to withhold the requested information pursuant to the privacy clause of Exemption (c). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Jefferson with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Juan Jefferson