Va. Supreme Court Rules School Board Did Not Violate Open Records Laws in Clifton School Case

The state Supreme Court ruled that the Fairfax County School board members did not violate the Freedom of Information Act in the course of their decision to close Clifton Elementary School, the Washington Post reports.

The newspaper reported that the court announced their decision on Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed by Clifton resident Jill DeMello Hill last year, argued that elected officials, members of the school board, violated FOIA laws by emailing each other about the school’s closure before a July 2010 public meeting was held on the matter, among other issues.

The Supreme Court disagreed that the school board members' e-mails constituted a secret meeting in violation of FOIA laws, the Post reports.

A separate lawsuit filed by a group of Clifton parents that had to do with the merits of the board’s decision to close the school was struck down in Fairfax County courts. The Virginia Supreme Court determined earlier this year that they would not be hearing that case.

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