,

Madison School District Sued After Denying Anonymous Public Records Requests

Attorney Says It's Illegal To Deny Requests Made Anonymously

By
Madison school district
Michelle Johnson/WPR

A lawsuit against the Madison Metropolitan School District claims the district denied an anonymous person’s open records requests — even though state open records laws say requesters don’t have to provide their names.

The complaint filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court says the school district insisted that the requester, who court documents only refer to as John Doe, identify themselves before releasing some of the records.

Doe’s attorney and the founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, Tom Kamenick, said the denials are clearly illegal.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“There’s a policy in the state that anonymous requests are just fine. It’s right there in the law,” he said.

The lawsuit included the district’s email response to several of Doe’s requests, which acknowledged the anonymity law.

“While the Wisconsin Open Records law does not require disclosure of the requester’s identity, the MMSD contends that the requester’s identity is relevant in its determination of whether there is a safety concern that would prohibit disclosure of the requested documents,” the district wrote.

There is legal precedent for denying public records requests based on safety. In one case, a man requested public records about an employee of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. The employee had a domestic violence injunction against the requester, and the board denied his request. The decision was affirmed by an appeals court.

However, Kamenick said the type of information John Doe requested from Madison public schools — like copies of curriculum plans and the number of diplomas awarded — doesn’t threaten anyone’s safety.

“There’s no argument — and the district didn’t even try to argue — that producing these records to anybody could present any kind of safety risk that would be involved, so the district’s really off-base here,” he said.

Kamenick said this type of public records denial is rare. Right now, another anonymous person is suing the Village of Ashwaubenon for denying records requests and asking the requester to show up in person to see them, according to The Press Times.

Madison’s John Doe is seeking a release of the records as well as cash damages.

A Madison Metropolitan School District spokesperson said the district has not yet received the lawsuit.