Are firefighter training records at Delaware's State Fire School public records under FOIA?

Official title

09-IB01 Re: Delaware State Fire School Records

Plain-English summary

A state senator asked the AG whether training records from the Delaware State Fire School, showing which courses a firefighter took and how many of the available hours they completed, counted as public records under FOIA. The records were filed in each firefighter's company personnel file, which raised the question of whether they might be shielded by FOIA's exemption for personnel and pupil files.

The AG found the Fire School itself was a public body under FOIA, since it was created by the General Assembly and supported by public funds, and that its training records fit FOIA's broad definition of a public record. The AG did not need to resolve whether the records technically counted as "personnel" or "pupil" file material, because even if they did, that exemption only protects information whose release would be an "invasion of personal privacy": publicizing something the public has no legitimate interest in, or wrongfully intruding into private affairs in a way that would outrage or humiliate an ordinary person. Since FOIA itself declares that the public has a legitimate interest in government records, and there was nothing shameful or humiliating about a firefighter's course list, the AG found the records had to be disclosed. The one caveat was that unrelated personal details that might appear on the same records, like home addresses or Social Security numbers, could be redacted before release, since the public had no legitimate interest in those specific details.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did keeping a record in an employee's personnel file automatically make it exempt from Delaware's public records law?

No, according to this opinion. The AG did not even need to decide whether fire school training records technically qualified as personnel or pupil file material, because the personnel/pupil exemption only shields information whose disclosure would actually invade personal privacy, and a list of course names and completed hours did not meet that bar.

What counted as an "invasion of personal privacy" under Delaware law?

According to this opinion, it meant publicizing something the public has no legitimate concern in, or wrongfully intruding into private activities in a way that would outrage or cause shame or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibility.

Did a Delaware public body have to hand over an entire record, including sensitive personal details like a Social Security number?

Not necessarily, according to this opinion. Even though the substance of the fire school training records was public, unrelated personal details such as home addresses and Social Security numbers could still be redacted before release.

Background and statutory framework

The Delaware State Fire School was a public body subject to FOIA because it was established by the General Assembly, 16 Del. C. § 6613, and supported by public funds, 29 Del. C. § 10002(c). FOIA defined "public records" broadly as "information of any kind … compiled or collected by a public body, relating in any way to public business, or in any way of public interest, or in any way related to public purposes," id. § 10002(g), a definition the AG found the training records satisfied, subject only to the enumerated exemptions, including one for "any personnel … or pupil file, the disclosure of which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy." Id. § 10002(g)(1).

The AG applied the Delaware Supreme Court's definition of invasion of privacy from Reardon v. News-Journal Co.: "the publicizing of one's affairs with which the public has no legitimate concern or the wrongful intrusion into one's private activities in such manner as to outrage or cause mental suffering, shame or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibility." Because FOIA's own declaration of policy, 29 Del. C. § 10001, established that the public has a legitimate concern in public records, and because the Delaware Superior Court's American Civil Liberties Union of Del. v. Danberg required FOIA's exemptions to be construed narrowly to further "easy access to public records" and government accountability, the AG concluded that a bare list of courses and hours could not meet the invasion-of-privacy standard, and ordered the records disclosed, with only unrelated personal identifiers like home addresses and Social Security numbers subject to redaction.

Citations

• 16 Del. C. § 6613 (Delaware State Fire School established by the General Assembly)
• 29 Del. C. § 10002(c) (defining "public body" to include entities established by the General Assembly and supported by public funds)
• 29 Del. C. § 10002(g) (broad definition of "public record")
• 29 Del. C. § 10002(g)(1) (exemption for personnel or pupil files whose disclosure would invade personal privacy)
• 29 Del. C. § 10001 (FOIA's declaration of policy: the public has a legitimate concern in government records and easy access furthers accountability)
• Reardon v. News-Journal Co., 164 A.2d 263, 266 (Del. 1960) (Delaware state court; defining invasion of privacy as publicizing matters of no legitimate public concern or wrongful intrusion causing outrage, shame, or humiliation)
• American Civil Liberties Union of Del. v. Danberg, 2007 WL 901592 (Del. Super.) (Delaware state court; FOIA's exemptions must be construed narrowly to further public access and government accountability)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2009/02/05/09-ib01-re-delaware-state-fire-school-records/
• Original PDF: not linked from landing page

Original opinion text

Del. Op. Atty. Gen. 09-IB01 (Del.A.G.), 2009 WL 1433466

Office of the Attorney General

State of Delaware

Opinion No. 09 – IB01

February 5, 2009

Re: Delaware State Fire School Records

*1 The Honorable Bruce C. Ennis

State Senator

Legislative Hall

P.O. Box 1401

Dover, DE 19903

Dear Senator Ennis:

You have asked for an Attorney General’s opinion as to whether the training records for courses taken at the Delaware State Fire School are public records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ), 29 Del. C. ch. 100. We have viewed an example of the records in question, which consists of a list of the courses the participant took at the Delaware State Fire School, showing the number of hours taken out of the number of hours available for each course. You have stated that the records are maintained by the State Fire School and “posted to each firefighter’s company file,” which suggests that the records might be personnel or pupil records that are exempt from public disclosure. However, our conclusion is that the Delaware State Fire School training records are public records to which the public has a right of access.

The State Fire School is a public body subject to FOIA because it is established by the General Assembly, pursuant to 16 Del. C. § 6613 , and is supported by public funds. 29 Del. C. § 10002 (c). Public records are “information of any kind … compiled or collected by a public body, relating in any way to public business, or in any way of public interest, or in any way related to public purposes [.]” 29 Del. C. § 10002 (g). The State Fire School records meet that definition, and therefore are to be made available to the public unless they are exempted under one of the exceptions listed in paragraphs (1) through (17) of 29 Del. C. § 10002 (g). One of the enumerated exemptions is for “any personnel … or pupil file, the disclosure of which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy[.]” 29 Del. C. § 10002 (g)(1).

We do not need to decide whether the records are part of a personnel or pupil file because we find that it is clear that there is nothing in the records which could arguably result in an invasion of personal privacy. The relevant definition of invasion of privacy in Delaware is, “the publicizing of one’s affairs with which the public has no legitimate concern or the wrongful intrusion into one’s private activities in such manner as to outrage or cause mental suffering, shame or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibility.” Reardon v. News-Journal Co. , 164 A.2d 263, 266 (Del. 1960) (emphasis added). And, the FOIA exceptions to public disclosure must be interpreted narrowly, not expansively, in order to comply with the General Assembly’s directive to construe FOIA so that the public has “easy access to public records” and to “further the accountability of government[.]” 29 Del. C. § 10001 ; American Civil Liberties Union of Del. v. Danberg , 2007 WL 901592 (Del. Super.) .

*2 By enacting FOIA , the General Assembly has determined that the public has a legitimate concern in public records. Therefore it cannot be said that the public has no legitimate concern in the State Fire School records. Neither can it be said that revealing a firefighter’s State Fire School record is a matter of outrage or would cause suffering, shame or humiliation to the ordinary person. Therefore, these records are not exempt from public disclosure. However, as there is no legitimate public interest in personal information such as home addresses and social security numbers, they may be redacted before the records are released.

Respectfully,

Lawrence W. Lewis

State Solicitor

Del. Op. Atty. Gen. 09-IB01 (Del.A.G.), 2009 WL 1433466