Plainfield CCSD 202 properly withheld teacher notes under student records exemption

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Dear

This determination is issued pursuant to section 9. 5( c) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) ( 5 ILCS 140/ 9. 5( c) ( West 2018)). For the reasons set forth below, the Public Access Bureau has determined that no further action is warranted as to this matter.

On November 18, 2019, you submitted a FOIA request to the Plainfield Community Consolidated School District No. 202 ( District) seeking "[ a] ny existing records of teachers anecdotal notes prepared byi1 five named District employees from January 1, 2018, to the date of the FOIA request. You noted that "' teacher anecdotal notes' shall be defined, in pertinent part, as: records used to document specific observations of individual student behaviors, skills and attitudes as they relate to the outcome of learning objectives. i2 You stated that " this request is limited to formal written reports or notes prepared by the [ named District employees] and does not include e- mail correspondence or routine academic performance records compiled on all students. i3 On November 20, 2019, the District informed you that your request was vague and unduly burdensome, explaining that "[ t] eachers take notes and provide formal reports on students every day. To review all these records would be unduly burdensome under [ s] ection 3( g) of the FOIA [ 5 ILCS 140/ 3( g) ( West 2018), as amended by Public Act 101.- 081, effective July 12, 2019]." Rather than invite you to narrow your request to more Letter from to Thomas A. Hernandez, Freedom of Information Act Officer, Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 ( November 18, 2019).

2Letter from to Thomas A. Hernandez, Freedom of Information Act Officer, manageable proportions, the District asserted that all of the records responsive to your request are student records that are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Illinois School Student Records Act ( ISSRA) ( 105 ILCS 10/ 6( a) ( West 2018)) and section 7. 5( r) of FOIA ( 5 ILCS 140/ 7. 5( r) ;(West 2018), as amended by Public Acts 101- 013, effective June 12, 2019; 101- 027, effective June 25, 2019; 101- 081, effective July 12, 2019; 101- 375, effective August 16, 2019; 101- 377, effective August 16, 2019; 101- 600, effective December 6, 2019; 101- 620, effective December' 20, 2019). Your Request for Review challenged the District's assertion of 3( g) and argued that the students' identities could be redacted from the responsive records.

Section 7. 5( r) of FOIA exempts from disclosure "[ i] nformation prohibited from being disclosed by the [ ISSRA]." Section 6( a) of ISSRA provides that "[ n] o school student records or 'information contained therein may be released, transferred, disclosed or otherwise disseminated, except" to certain authorized parties who are irrelevant here. Section 2( d) of ISSRA ( 105 ILCS 10/ 2( d) ( West 2018)) defines " school student record" as " any writing or other recorded information concerning a student and by which a student may be individually identified; maintained by a school or at its direction or by an employee of a school, regardless of how or where the information is stored." ( Emphasis added.)

In Bowie v. Evanston Community Consolidated School District No. 65, 128 Ill. 2d 373, 375 ( 1989) parents of students requested student test scores and the race of each student tested for a five- year period. The Illinois Supreme Court held that a " masked record, which deletes individual identifying information, does not fall within the definition of a school student record, and is not prohibited from disclosure under the Act." Bowie, 128 Ill. 2d at 379. In Board ofEducation ofCity ofChicago v. Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, 2013 IL App ( 1st) 122447, ¶ 19, 3 N.E. 3d 343, 350 ( 2013), the Illinois Appellate Court distinguished student disciplinary, records from masked test scores, stating that "[ a] ' masked' record is one where any information, identifying a student has been deleted and the record is released for the purpose of research, statistical reporting, or planning." The court held that ISSRA prohibited disclosure of two students' disciplinary records because " the mere redaction of the students' surnames or being identified— parents, students, or other members of the public familiar with the teachers' classrooms could ascertain the identities of students based on the specific circumstances described in the notes or reports. Because ISSRA specifically prohibits disclosure of records from which individual students could be identified, the District did not improperly deny your request pursuant to section 7. 5( r) of FOIA. Therefore, no further action is necessary in this matter.

This file is closed. If you have any questions, please contact me at 217- 524- 7958 or at the Springfield address listed on the bottom of the first page of this letter.

Very truly yours, LAURA S. HARTER Deputy Bureau Chief Public Access Bureau 61177fnofiwar sd cc: Via electronic mail Mr. Tom Hernandez Director of Community Relations FOIA Officer Plainfield Community Consolidated School District No. 202 15732 Howard Street Plainfield, Illinois 60544