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• Records prohibited from disclosure by federal or state law, including, but not limited
to, provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege, that can specifically be cited
to the requestor. (Government Code § 7927.705.)

• Certain individual financial information. (Government Code §§ 7924.505, 7925.000,
7925.005,7925.010.)

• Home addresses of state and school district employees, judges and certain elected and
appointed officials. (Government Code §§ 7923.805, 7928.205, 7928.300.)

Public Records Act Catchall Exemption/Balancing Test:

• The agency may refuse to disclose a public record if the agency determines that “on
the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not disclosing the record
clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.”
(Government Code § 7922.000.)

• The exception should be used cautiously. Case law requires the agency to prove that
there is a “clear overbalance” on the side of confidentiality. (California State
University, Fresno Association, Inc. v. Super. Ct. (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 810.) This is
a high standard to meet.

Juvenile and Student Records:

• Law enforcement records involving juveniles may not be disclosed to the public
absent a court order. A subpoena prepared and served by an attorney is not enough.
There are certain exceptions for releasing the records to other agencies that have a
need for the information. (Welfare and Institution Code §§ 825 – 830.1; Government
Code § 7930.215; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.552; Wescott v. County of Yuba (1980)
104 Cal.App.4th 103).)

• Student records are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C., sections 1232g et seq., and the
California Education Code sections 49073 et seq. and 76240 et seq. Generally, no
production of student records is allowed absent parental consent or a court order. A
properly issued subpoena, prepared and served by an attorney, will suffice. (34
C.F.R., § 99.31(a)(9).)

4. The Agency May Only Charge Its Actual Duplication Costs or Statutory Fee.

Agencies may charge for their duplication costs as a condition of providing copies of
non-exempt records. This includes only copying costs per page. It does not include employee
time to locate and assemble the records. The agency may ask for these costs before making the
copies. If the Legislature has enacted a statutory fee for obtaining copies of the record, that fee
will control, provided it is reasonable. If a citizen requests an electronic document and the
request “would require data compilation, extraction, or programming to produce the record” the

148 2025 Brown Act Handbook LozanoSmith.com