Records
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-13-26
The invocation of certain exemptions by a public body in §§ 2.2-3706 and 2.2-3706.1 allows specific information to be mandatorily disclosable, disclosed in the custodian’s discretion, or prohibited from release. Accordingly, each element of the incident-level data requested requires analysis of whether, and to what extent, those provisions permit or require disclosure of criminal investigative…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-12-26
Failure to respond within five working days without invoking an extension is deemed a denial and a violation of FOIA as provided by subsection E of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia. As we have repeatedly affirmed, this office is not a trier of fact and, as such, factual disputes are not within our…
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FOI Advisory Opinion AO-11-26
Addresses the obligation of a public body to make a good faith search for requested public records and the statutory remedy of filing a petition for mandamus or injunction to remedy FOIA violations. AO-11-26 October 21, 2026 Allen YipVia Electronic Mail The staff of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized to issue advisory…
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Quick v. Spotsylvania County School Board (COA-unpublished)
In an unpublished opinion interpreting FOIA, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Spotsylvania County School Board on some issues, and against it in others, in a case brought against the school division by the parent of two students who needed individual education plans (IEPs) Among the holdings:
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-10-26
The custodian of law-enforcement records possesses the discretion, except where such disclosure is prohibited by law, as to whether to invoke the exemptions provided in subdivision B 9 of § 2.2-3706 of the Code of Virginia and subdivision 1 of § 2.2-3705.1 of the Code of Virginia to withhold personnel records of law-enforcement personnel. However,…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-09-26
The FOIA Advisory Council cannot make factual determinations about the status of a particular investigation or treat a citation change as a definitive “acknowledgment.” Furthermore, FOIA does not require an agency to apply a formal public-interest balancing test or other specific factors (such as how long an investigation has lasted or whether charges were brought)…
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Smith v. Brown (COA)
The Virginia Court of Appeals rules that UVA was right that FOIA’s working papers exemption allowed them to withhold two records used by former president Jim Ryan for his “personal or deliberative use.”
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-08-26
AO-08-26 June 29, 2026 Bradley ParkzesVia Electronic Mail The staff of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized to issue advisory opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion is based solely upon the information presented in your email of September 20, 2025, and its attachment. Dear Mr. Parkzes: You have asked several questions regarding a…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-07-26
AO-07-26 June 22, 2026 Mr. George BarsnessAlexandria, VirginiaRequest received via email The staff of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized to issue advisory opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion is based solely upon the information presented in your email of May 13, 2025. Dear Mr. Barsness: You have requested an advisory opinion relative…
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Lee BHM Corp. v. UVA (COA unpublished)
This is the case challenging UVA’s withholding of a report delving into what happened before and after the deadly shooting of three football players by one of their former teammates. Though the university eventually dropped its assertion that the entire report could be withheld under the criminal investigations exemption, the Court of Appeals said it…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-05-26
Requests for scholastic records should be responded to within FOIA’s deadlines instead of the 45-day ceiling allowed under the federal educational rights law (FERPA). Schools may not limit requests to inspect records, nor can they require that requesters use a specific form or online portal to submit a FOIA request. AO-05-26 May 5, 2026 Ms.…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-26
A county is a political subdivision and an arm of the Commonwealth and, therefore, is not a “citizen of the Commonwealth” for purposes of subsection A of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia. A public official may submit a FOIA request in their individual capacity as a citizen of the Commonwealth. AO-04-26 May 5,…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-26
Regulations and statutes are laws, not records “in the transaction of public business” and are published “as otherwise specifically provided by law.” Therefore they are not public records subject to FOIA. AO-06-26 May 4, 2026 The Honorable Albert C. Pollard, Jr.Via Electronic Mail The staff of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized to…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion, AO-02-26
AO-02-26 February 23, 2026 Mr. Mital GandhiLoudoun, VirginiaRequest received via email The staff of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized to issue advisory opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion is based solely upon the information presented in your email of September 3, 2024. Background You have asked for the opinion of this office…
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Attorney General Opinion 23-016
School districts can enter into settlement agreements. If it was compiled for litigation, it may be exempt, but that’s a fact-specific determination. The amounts paid is not confidential.
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Wilson v. City of Williamsburg (GDC)
General District Court judge rules that a settlement agreement on its own is not exempt as attorney work product. It might have been prepared for litigation, which might be exempt, but without seeing the settlement (neither party provided a copy), the court can’t assume that it was.
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Gendreau v. McEvoy (circuit)
A Roanoke Circuit Court ruled a county water authority could not redact the expected water usage for a data center development because such information was not “proprietary.”
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Virginia Department of Corrections v. Insider Inc. (COA, unpublished)
In an unpublished opinion issued Oct. 28, 2025, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that photos, videos and logs of canine bite incidents in Virginia’s prisons were exempt by section 2.2-3706(B)(4), which says prison officials may withhold “records of persons imprisoned in penal institutions in the Commonwealth provided such records relate to the imprisonment.” A…
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Maddox v. City of Chesapeake (COA-unpublished)
The Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, rules the Chesapeake did not have to give a former police lieutenant a redacted copy of a duty schedule for the city’s 911 call center because his knowledge of the scheduling system would allow him to figure out who was working and thus who made a complaint…
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Horner v. Office of Attorney General (COA-unpublished)
The Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, ruled that the working papers exemption extends to the entire office of the attorney general, not just to the AG as an official.
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Virginia State Conference NAACP v. Governor Glenn Youngkin (COA-unpublished)
The Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, ruled that because the trial court did not make a ruling on attorney fees, the underlying case was not yet over. The trial court ruled the governor could withhold records on voting rights restoration under the working papers exemption.
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Commonwealth v. Sawyer (COA)
The Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled April 29, 2025, that the trial court was right to find that the plaintiff (Sawyer) had stated an adequate claim under FOIA, but was wrong to order all of the records to be released without looking over any of them to see if the working papers exemption applied.…
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City of Roanoke v. Schwaner (Roanoke Circuit Court)
A Roanoke Circuit Court judge issued a declaratory judgment confirming that neither the City of Roanoke’s internal policies nor the contract it had with Flock Group, Inc., over the use of Flock’s license plate reader cameras could override the city’s duty to comply with a FOIA request for Flock data.
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Blackstock v. Virginia Department of Transportation (COA)
The Court of Appeals for Virginia rules that VDOT could assert an exemption for the first time on appeal because the exemption contained a prohibition against release of specific information; it was an ‘other law’ that prohibited release. The exemption at issue is 2.2-3705.3(7): ““Investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise…