Who is a Public Figure II

Remember in November er I mean JC asked the question : How was this a personal matter?

Glad you asked Jim, I mean JC… It might help you to know that personnel working in school districts are protected by Chapter 150 E of Mass General laws governing school districts. So again my lawyer friend was able to provide us some insight on how that may effect this secretary.

1. M.G.L. c. 150E is the collective bargaining statute that provides public employees the right of self-organization and the right to form, join, or assist any employee organization. As a result, it wouldn’t seem to relate directly to the issue at hand.

2. Wakefield Teachers Association v. School Committee of Wakefield, 431 Mass. 792, 731 N.E.2d 63 (2000), does provide some guidance on what documents are exempt from the definition of “public documents” for the purposes of requests under the Freedom of Information Act and are therefore protected from disclosure. In Wakefield, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) considered whether a disciplinary decision and report (“the Report”) of the superintendent of the Wakefield public schools regarding the performance of a Wakefield public school teacher was exempt from disclosure under the public records law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, pursuant to another statute, M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth (c ), which defines what is considered a public record.

In the Wakefield case, the superintendent had learned that a male teacher at Wakefield Junior High School had written potentially inappropriate notes on the homework assignments of two female students in his class. The superintendent conducted an investigation into the allegations, including an interview with the teacher and two union representatives, and wrote the Report. As he later described in a public letter (which was not the subject of the lawsuit), the superintendent concluded that the teacher’s conduct “crossed over the line of responsibility a teacher has to a student.” The superintendent’s Report described his decision to impose on the teacher a suspension without pay for four weeks. The teacher served the four-week suspension before returning to work.

A resident of Wakefield wrote to the superintendent requesting “any information… regarding the suspension of a teacher at the Junior High School.” The resident noted that he was “not interested in either the teacher’s or the student’s name, but rather the nature of the offense for which he was suspended.” The superintendent responded in writing denying the request, and stating he would ask the supervisor of public records (acting supervisor) for further direction regarding the issue. The superintendent added:

“I am further willing to share with you that a male teacher was investigated and disciplined because of notes he wrote on the homework papers of two seventh grade female students. The teacher claimed that the notes were only a joke and intended to provide positive reinforcement. I judged that the notes were more serious and clearly crossed over the line of responsibility a teacher has to a student. I have every confidence that this teacher is no danger to these children or any other children and should, upon completion of his suspension, return to his teaching position in the district without further sanction.”

The superintendent also received requests from several news reporters. The Wakefield Teachers Association filed a complaint on behalf of the teacher for declaratory and injunctive relief, seeking to prevent the superintendent from publicly disclosing the Report, and the issue was ultimately taken up on appeal to the SJC.

The SJC held that the Report, which resulted in the teacher’s four-week suspension, constituted part of the teacher’s “personnel … file[ ] or information,” and was exempt from disclosure. The SJC reasoned that the Report constituted “personnel” information as it is defined in the exemption to the definition of public record found at M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth (c). M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth provides, in pertinent part:

“‘Public Records’ shall mean all books, papers… made or received by any officer or employee of any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, unless such materials or data fall within the following exceptions in that they are:… (c ) personnel and medical files or information; also any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy….”