Overview of Requesting Public Information

As long as a public information request is done in writing, the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) provides broad leniency on a request’s validity.  For example, a request does not need to state what law the request is being made under and can even make a request based upon the wrong statute.  The requestor also does not need to explain why the request is being made nor can the school district ask why the request is being made. 

Remember, the TPIA is construed in favor of the requestor, so a school district is the one that must show that a request is not validly made.  Under current law, the school district may not require that a handwritten or typed request follow specific rules.   As long as the request is in writing, provided to a person on the school district’s staff, on school grounds, and during business hours, the request must be considered valid and must be promptly fulfilled by the school district.  Consequently, a district cannot require a requestor to fill out a specific form or require the use of specific “requesting” words before a school district accepts the request.  Simply handwriting “I want Mr. [name] records” on a Post-it may be considered a valid TPIA request.  However, if a request is vague, a school district can always ask for clarification of what is being requested.

A school district should develop a system and train the entire district’s staff, so everyone in a school district recognizes a request, knows who or what office handles TPIA requests, and understands the importance of correctly and timely handling a request.

TPIA Request by E-mail and Fax

E-mailed and faxed requests are also considered valid requests.  However, requests that are e-mailed or faxed must be sent to the district’s designated officer of public information requests, usually the superintendent.  Unlike handwritten or typed requests, an e-mail or faxed request is not valid if e-mailed or faxed to a recipient other than the designated public information request officer. 

However, the AG’s Office has advised school districts to develop a district-wide policy regarding e-mail and fax to prevent any confusion regarding requests that are made through these methods.  A district-wide procedure for handling e-mail TPIA requests is incredibly important in a world of “reply all” and “forward”, because these actions can create problems that the AG’s Office has yet to address.  Without a district procedure, incidents like the ones discussed below may create various problems for the district:

• Forwarding a TPIA request made by e-mail – Although a TPIA request must be e-mailed to the designated TPIA officer, the AG’s Office has not answered whether or not a district employee who receives a TPIA request and forwards it to the designated TPIA officer has fulfilled the statute regarding an e-mail being sent to the designated TPIA officer.  Forwarding the email can also create timeline problems and can become even more confusing depending on how many times an e-mail is forwarded.
• Using Reply-all to answer a request made by e-mail – this can create the same issue as forwarding e-mails.  For example, if someone on the district’s staff replies “to all” when responding to the requestor and one of the other recipients forwards it to the appropriate TPIA officer, the school district faces the same potential problems as simply forwarding the e-mail.

These are just two examples of problems that can occur with e-mail. Similar problems can also occur with faxes that are received and then sent by hand to other district staff members. 

Remember, the TPIA contains many specific deadlines that are crucial to advancing certain exceptions to disclosure that the school district can claim. Failure to timely respond to these requests and assert legitimate exceptions likely will result to a mandatory disclosure of the requested information.

Suggested Steps a School District for E-mailed and Faxed TPIA Requests

1)      Designate an e-mail address and fax number specifically used for TPIA requests and publicize that address on the district’s website and in its handbooks.

2)      Develop administrative procedure on how to handle e-mailed or faxed requests that are sent to someone other than the designated TPIA officer.  Decide whether the incorrect recipient should simply not reply to the request, or should send a universal reply informing the requestor that the TPIA request is not a valid request until it has been sent to the appropriate e-mail address and/or fax number, with the receipt of correct information included with that response.

3)      Develop a system to accurately document TPIA e-mail and fax requests so that the district will appropriately respond to mandated timelines and verify the receipt of valid requests.

Documentation and designating a TPIA officer is also important because statutory timelines begin when a request is received and not when the e-mailed request is opened or the fax is read.  This means that even if a request sits in an inbox or fax machine for ten days unopened or unnoticed, those ten days will still count as days towards the mandatory deadlines in a TPIA request.  Therefore, it behooves the district to have a designated person who is responsible for receiving all e-mailed and faxed requests.

AG’s Previous Determination Opinion (Open Records Decision No. 684)

Under the TPIA, most exceptions that school districts can claim to protect certain information must be reviewed by the AG’s office.  If these exceptions are not made within mandatory timelines or under the appropriate statutes, the result could be the mandatory disclosure of requested information. However, the AG’s office, through the powers granted to it by the TPIA, issued an opinion that would establishing several categories or types of information that will not have to be submitted fro a determination, what is called a “previous determination.”  Simply stated, a previous determination is an opinion by the AG excepting information, and, in the future, this information no longer has to be submitted to the AG’s office before it can be excepted from a TPIA request.  The newest previous determination decision now excepts the following: 

-       Direct Deposit Authorization Forms

-       I-9s

-       W-2s

-       W-4s

-       Certified Agendas and Tapes of Closed Meeting

-       Fingerprints

-       Texas Driver’s License numbers

-       Texas License Plate numbers

-       Personal E-mail Addresses

-       Insurance Numbers

-       PIN Numbers

-       Credit Card and Account Numbers

-       L-2 and L-3 Declarations

-       Military Discharge Records

Some of this information can be withheld in its entirety (i.e. W-2 and W-4 forms), but other information must meet certain requirements to be excepted from a request (i.e., e-mail addresses). These previously determined exceptions are meant to save both school districts and the AG’s office time and money in submitting and deciding information that is clearly not required to be disclosed. Even though ORD-684 will provide some relief, it is still important to confer with district legal counsel before unilaterally withholding information from a requestor.   If you have any questions regarding what can or cannot be excepted, it is important to contact your legal counsel.

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