Virginia appeals court partly sides with Spotsylvania parent in FOIA delay case

A parent seeking records about her children’s education plans won a partial victory in the Virginia Court of Appeals, which sent part of her FOIA case against the Spotsylvania County School Board back to the trial court.

Tamara Quick, the parent of two students, sought documents related to their individualized education programs, customized learning plans for students with disabilities.

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit alliance promoting open government, published a copy of the Aug. 4 opinion, drawing attention to questions about the school division’s compliance with Virginia’s FOIA response deadline. Quick alleged that the division had failed to respond within five business days, instead taking more than a month.

Quick lost in the trial court after arguing that the school division had not responded properly or quickly enough under Virginia FOIA. She appealed.

The appeals court upheld the lower court’s finding that Quick’s April 18, May 6, and May 23 inquiries were not FOIA requests.

However, her Oct. 4 request was a valid FOIA request because it explicitly referenced FOIA and was sent to the school superintendent and FOIA officer.

The appeals court sent the issue back to the lower court after the school division produced records more than a month later, on Nov. 8.

The trial court must examine whether the division produced the specific records requested Oct. 4 and whether it violated FOIA’s five-working-day requirements.

The appeals court rejected Quick’s two other FOIA requests on procedural grounds. Her Nov. 5 request was not in the record, so she could not establish what she sent or to whom. Her Jan. 13 request was sent to the school system’s private attorneys rather than the school system itself.

Source: Virginia Mercury

Email the Spotsylvania County Board/Council:
Lori Hayes (Chair), lhayes@spotsylvania.va.us,
Drew Mullins (Vice Chair), dmullins@spotsylvania.va.us,
Chris Yakabouski, cyakabouski@spotsylvania.va.us,
David Goosman, DGoosman@spotsylvania.va.us,
Jacob Lane, JLane@spotsylvania.va.us,
Deborah Frazier, dhfrazier@spotsylvania.va.us,
Timothy J. McLaughlin, mclaughlintj@spotsylvania.va.us, 540-734-9974

Email the Spotsylvania County School Board:
Megan Jackson (Livingston, Chair): mjackson@spotsylvania.k12.va.us, 540-621-8814
Belén Rodas (Chancellor, Vice Chair): brodas@spotsylvania.k12.va.us, 540-300-8435
Jennifer Craig-Ford (Battlefield, Member): jcraigford@spotsylvania.k12.va.us, 540-960-9074
Lawrence DiBella (Berkeley, Member): ladibella@spotsylvania.k12.va.us
Carol Medawar (Courtland, Member): cmedawar@spotsylvania.k12.va.us, 540-537-2477
Rich Lieberman (Lee Hill, Member): rlieberman@spotsylvania.k12.va.us, 804-246-3786
Lorita Daniels (Salem, Member): lcdaniels@spotsylvania.k12.va.us
Contact: https://www.spotsylvania.k12.va.us/page/members

Spotsylvania County is a county in the Fredericksburg area. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse.