SCOV Law

Admin By Andy Delaney This week's post is going to be short because , as Polonious quipped in Hamlet , "Brevity is the soul of wit." I'm lazy.  SCOV issued two opinions on Friday, January 10.  Opinion one boils down to whether redacted records related to the use of restraint and seclusion on students are subject to a Public Records Act request or "categorically exempt from disclosure pursuant to the student records exception." The trial court found that the records, suitably redacted, were subject to such a request. SCOV disagrees concluding the latter position (categorically exempt) applies. The opinion has some administrative procedure, public policy, interest balancing, and statutory interpretation. While this is a unanimous opinion, it's one of those opinions that, in my view, illustrates how reasonable minds can differ in applying the law. The trial court's reasoning is not on-its-face unreasonable (nor is SCOV's categorical-exemption concl...