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PR 14-31 Boss v. Woonsocket Superintendent's Office – Violation

Complainant submitted an APRA request to the Superintendent's Office requesting, among other documents, a copy of the Superintendent's evaluation. The Superintendent's Office denied access to the evaluation on the grounds that it was a "working paper," i.e., pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(K). Based on the evidence presented, this Department concluded that evaluation was not a "working paper." Accordingly, the issue left to be decide was whether there is "good cause" to permit the Superintendent's Office to withhold disclosing the evaluation, even though not expressly claimed in the denial, under the personal privacy exemption, i.e., pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b). Based on the totality of the circumstances, we found that the Superintendent's Office had not shown sufficient "good cause," as required under R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7(a), to overcome a waiver argument. In so concluding, we found that the Superintendent's Office waived its right to deny the request under R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b). Finally, we found that the Superintendent's Office violated the APRA when it denied the request for the evaluation under R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(K).

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