2026 Advisory Opinions Issued

VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

ADVISORY OPINIONS ISSUED

2026

Opinion No.	Issue(s)
February
AO-01-26	While FOIA does not explicitly state the level of specificity required when posting the location of a meeting, following FOIA's policy and purpose the notice must include sufficient information for the public to locate and attend the meeting.
AO-02-26	This opinion examines the interaction of copyright law with FOIA, the scholastic records exemption, and the exemption for tests and examinations in the context of a request for public records from a public school.
AO-03-26	In general, an organization or entity receiving at least two- thirds, or 66.6 percent, of its operating budget from government sources through government appropriation, largess, or a noncompetitive contract or grant is a "public body supported wholly or principally by public funds" as defined in § 2.2-3701 of the Code of Virginia and subject to FOIA for meetings and public records. Such entities within a state university's governance structure would also likely be considered public bodies if they are found to be "supported wholly or principally by public funds" in the established amount and manner. The FOIA Council has no investigative powers and is not a trier of fact and cannot resolve factual disputes between a requester and a public body. The courts of Virginia are determiners of fact and authorized to enforce the provisions of FOIA.
May
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-05-26	This office's recommended guidance is that both FOIA and FERPA apply to education and scholastic records and that a school district, school board, and school would best be served by complying with the provisions of both laws, and if possible, should avoid violating either one. By complying with the five working day response timeline of FOIA, a school district, school board, and school would also comply with the 45 day response timeline of FERPA. Otherwise, a school district, school board, and school would comply with FERPA's response timeline while violating FOIA's response timeline in subsection B of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia. FOIA affords requesters the right to choose whether to inspect or obtain copies of public records. Therefore, a custodian cannot require a requester come to the school to inspect and review the requested records instead or providing copies of the records if the requester chooses to obtain copies of the records. FOIA specifically prohibits a public body from assessing charges to a parent or legal guardian of a minor student or a student who is 18 years of age or older for providing "scholastic records." However, a school or school board may possess public records that are not considered part of a student's "scholastic records" and may charge for production of such records. A public body cannot require a requester to fill out a particular form or portal to make a FOIA request or refuse to respond to a request if a requester does not use a particular form or portal. A school or school board may provide the requester the option of using a request form or portal for convenience and clarity, but a request cannot be ignored or denied by a public body because the requester has determined not to fill out a form or use a portal and decided to use an alternative method in submitting a request. FOIA is not intended to be "an adversarial process staking government against citizens."
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.