Dear Mr. Catanzaro,
This will respond to your email below, and request for public records under the California Public Records Act (“PRA”). You are correct that, typically, a public agency must respond to a PRA request within ten days of receipt. However, pursuant to Government Code section 6253(c), in unusual circumstances, that time may be extended for an additional 14 days upon written notice to the requester. “Unusual circumstances” includes the need to search for, identify and review large volumes of data and/or to compile data. Your request falls into this category. Accordingly, please allow this email correspondence to serve as the District’s notice of extension as well as our substantive response to your request.
For the following reasons, your request as stated must be denied. First, we do not have a “record” as that term is defined in the PRA, which is responsive to your request. There is nothing in the PRA which requires a public agency to create a record where no such record exists. More importantly, we are prohibited under the federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act from providing a “list of personal characteristics or other information that would make a student’s identity easily traceable.” (34 C.F.R. 99.3.) Were we to compile the data you requested on a per-student basis, even using a key or identifier instead of a name, the sum of the information would make each student’s identity easily traceable. The PRA provides an exception from disclosure requirements where disclosure is prohibited under state or federal law. (Cal. Gov. Code §6254(k).)
It may be possible to provide a partial response to your request, if you can narrow it such that there is insufficient information to allow a student’s identity to be traced. Please let me know if I can assist you developing a more narrow request.
Kind Regards,
Andra M. Donovan
Deputy General Counsel
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