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DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE

P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL

70804-9005

ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 3,2015
OPINION 15-0085
90 - C - PUBLIC RECORDS

Representative Neil Abramson 
District 98
601 Poydras Street, Suite 1635
New Orleans, LA 70130

Dear Representative Abramson:

La. Cons!. Art. XII, §3
La. R.S 17:3996

La. RS 17:3991

La. R.S. 44:4


Lusher Charter School, a Type 3 charter school, must
disclose the name of an admissions exam used in the course
of evaluating students for admission in response to a public
records request. If a public records request is submitted to
the school requesting access to the content of the admissions
exam, the school could rely upon La. R S 17:3996(B)(10)
and La. R.S. 44:4(16) to deny access

Our office received your request for an opinion concerning the application of Louisiana's
Public Records Law, La. RS, 44:1 et seq., to an admissions exam utilized by a charter
school. More specifically, the correspondence included with your request indicates that
a parent requested access to the admissions exam administered by Lusher Charter
School, a Type 3 Charter School in New Orleans ("Lusher"). While the correspondence
asks about the applicability of the Public Records Law to the exam, we understand that
the individual requesting access to records from the school has indicated that the
specific information sought is the name of the admissions exam used rather than the
content of the exam itself. Thus, our opinion will address access to the name, as well
as the content, of the exam.
The right of access to public records is provided for by the Louisiana Constitution, article
XII, section 3, providing that "[n]o person shall be denied the right to ... examine public
documents, except in cases established by law." The Public Records Law was enacted
by the Louisiana legislature to protect and define the constitutional right of access to
public documents. The Louisiana Supreme Court has instructed liberal construction of
the Public Records Law, with any doubt being resolved in favor of access.' As directed
by La. RS. 44:31, providing access to public records is a responsibility and duty of the
appointive or elective office of a custodian and his employees unless there is a specific
provision of Title 44 or other law that exempts the records from inspection.
As an initial malter, we note that there appears to be no dispute that admissions exams
utilized by a charter school fall within the definition of "public records" in La. RS.
44:1(A)(2)(a), as they are records used by a charter school in the conduct or
performance of public business."
See. e.g., Title Research Corp. v. Rausch, 450 SO.2d 933. 936 (La.1984).

Consistent with La. R.S. 17:3996(8), charter schools are required to comply with the Public Records

Law.

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 OPINION 15-0085
Representative Neil Abramson
Page 2

The Public Records Law contains two provisions relevant to testing instruments used by
educational institutions. La. RS. 44:4(16)(e) is specific to records of a board or
institution of higher learning and exempts "[t]est questions, scoring keys, and other
examination data pertaining to the administration of an academic exammatlon." More
directly relevant to your inquiry, La. R.S. 44:4(27) provides that the Public Records Law
shall not apply:
(a) To any testing instrument used or to be used by the state Department
of Education or the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
to assess the performance of individual students, nor to any answers for
such tests or any individual student scores on such tests.
(b) Nothing in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall prohibit any
person authorized by policies adopted by the state Department of
Education or the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
from having access to the test instrument, test answers, or any individual
student scores on such tests as necessary for the performance of his
duties and responsibilities, nor any parent or guardian of a child who has
taken any such test from having access to or being provided the child's
individual test scores.
We understand that Lusher requires prospective students to take an entrance exam
prior to admission and that such exam is provided by a testing service that Lusher has
worked with for several years. The Lusher administration believes that the admissions
test suits its needs and the same test is used from year to year. While Lusher notes
that the above-cited exceptions in La. R.S. 44:4 do not name charter schools, it
nonetheless urges the application of such exceptions to charter schools, stating:
If the Lusher admission exam were to become publicly available, those
applicants with access to the exam could gain an unfair advantage over
other applicants. Moreover, if the admissions exam does not fall under
the above referenced exemptions, then virtually all tests given in Louisiana
primary and secondary schools would be subject to the Public Records
Act. This could lead to results that are very disruptive to education in
Louisiana. For example, a parent could use the Public Records Act to
request a copy of his or her child's biology exam before it is administered.
Such an outcome would not serve a public purpose and would undermine
the academic testing and grading system currently in place.
While La. RS. 44:4(27) specifically names the Department of Education and the State
Board of Elementary or Secondary Education, and while charter schools are specifically
required to comply with the Public Records Law, as directed by La. RS.
Subsection 1 exempts "[tleachinq materials used by laculty that are not provided to students, including
unpublished lecture notes, outlines, slides, syllabi, or recordings." La. R.S. 44:4(16)(1).

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 OPINION 15-0085
Representative Neil Abramson

Page 3

17:3996(8)(10), the legislature qualified that a charter school is required to comply with
the Public Records Law to the extent the Public Records Law is otherwise applicable to
a public school with the same grades 4 Thus, if the Public Records Law does not
require other public schools to provide access to testing instruments, except as qualified
by La. RS. 44:4(27)(b), it follows that, if Lusher were presented with a public records
request for a copy of the actual admission examination, Lusher could deny access to
the request, citing to both La. RS. 17:3996(8)(10) and La. R.S. 44:4(27). Thus, to
refer back to the example provided by Lusher, the school could rely upon these two
statutes, when read together, to deny a parent's request for his child's biology exam
before it is administered.
However, as previously noted, we understand that the requestor has indicated he is not
seeking access to the content of the admissions exam, but rather, more simply, to the
name of the exam used by Lusher. Thus, the inquiry becomes whether it is appropriate
for Lusher to deny access to the name of the admissions exam used. Lusher has
indicated that disclosing such information could allow some parents to gain access to
the exam and coach a child into performing wel1. 5 As we understand the admissions
process through phone conversations with Lusher, the admissions exam is one of
multiple factors considered in determining whether to accept a child for admission.
The Charter School Demonstration Programs Law, La. R.S. 17:3971 et seq., contains
language concerning admissions requirements, La. RS. 17:3991(8)(3) providing:
Admission requirements, if any, that are consistent with the school's role,
scope, and mission may be established pursuant to rules promulgated by
the state board. Such admission requirements shall be specific and shall
include a system for admission decisions which precludes exclusion of
pupils based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, national origin,
intelligence level as ascertained by an intelligence quotient examination,
or identification as a student with an exceptionality as defined in R.S.
17:1942(8). Such admission requirements may include, however, specific
requirements related to a school's mission such as auditions for schools
La. R.S. 17:3996(8)(10) provides, "Notwithstanding any state law, rule, or regulation to the contrary and
except as may be otherwise specifically provided for in a an approved charter, a charter school
established and operated in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and its approved charter and
the school's officers and employees shall be exempt from all statutory mandates or other statutory
requirements that are applicable to pubuc schools and to public school officers except for the following
laws otherwise applicable to public schools with the same grades: ... (10) Public Records Law, R.S. 44:1
et seq." (Emphasis added).
5 While Lusher's concerns are somewhat speculative, we acknowledge that a representative with another
charter school verbally provided more concrete examples of experience with parents accessing
admissions exam content when the name of the exam was made available. Further, our ultimate
rejection of this argument is not intended to diminish the sincerity of the assertions made to our office that
parents are able to utilize resources available to them to obtain access to a copy of the exams and that
such advanced knowledge provides some children with an unfair advantage. Rather, our conclusion is
reached based on the fact that any exception to the constitutional right of access must be narrowly
construed, and in order to deny access, the law must unequivocally protect such a record from disclosure.
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 OPINION 15-0085
Representative Neil Abramson

Page4

with a performing arts mission or proficiency in a foreign language for
schools with a language immersion mission. Any school which was
chartered prior to July 1, 2012, and which incorporated achievement of a
certain academic record as part of its admission requirements may
continue to utilize such admission requirements. No local board shall
assign any pupil to attend a charter school.
Thus, while the school is permitted to have admission requirements, this does not
permit the use of intelligence quotient examinations. While the school believes that
giving the name of the admissions examination used could compromise the security of
the content, the requestor believes that he is entitled to know that the examination
utilized is not one which qualifies as an intelligence quotient examination." Lusher has
expressed concerns that, if parents become aware of the examination being used and
obtain access to the content, this could potentially compromise the usefulness of results
and result in the need to utilize different admissions tests from year-to-year.' While this
may be a compelling reason to advocate for a change in the law to provide for a specific
exception relevant to the name of an admissions test used by a charter school, it is the
opinion of this office that the current Public Records Law does not provide such an
exception.
In conclusion, it is the opinion of this office that Lusher Charter School, a Type 3 charter
school, must disclose the name of an admissions exam used in evaluating students for
admission in response to a public records request. If a public records request is
submitted to the school requesting access to the content of the admissions exam, the
school could rely upon La. R.S. 17:3996(B)(10) and La. R.S. 44:4(16) to deny access.
We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised.
If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
With best regards,
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
An()RN~Y GENERAL

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Assistant Attorney General

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Lusher specifically asserts the admissions exam used is not an intelligence quotient examination.
Compromised examination scores have the potential to impact decisions made as a direct result of the
scores, such as grade assignment, grade promotion, teacher evaluations and school accountability
ratings. Further, if the exams used must change each year, not only does this mean the school will
experience additional costs associated with giving an admissions exam, it also presents a challenge to
the school as far as evaluating data from year-to-year to determine the effectiveness of the exam.
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