91-15
Posted on Sep 10, 1991 in Formal OpinionsOpinion Letter No. 91-15
September 10, 1991
Law School Accreditation Reports
[Please note that opinions discussing the deliberative process privilege have been materially affected by the Hawaii Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Peer News LLC v. City and County of Honolulu, 143 Haw. 472 (Dec. 21, 2018).]
[OIP Op. Ltr. No. 05-03 partially overrules this opinion to the extent that it states or implies that the UIPA’s privacy exception in section 92F-13(1), HRS, either prohibits public disclosure or mandates confidentiality.]
A site evaluation report prepared in connection with the accreditation of the UH law school must be made available for public inspection and copying, except for those portions that would reveal certain described personal information about law school faculty. Portions of the law school’s self-study report were found to be protected by the “deliberative process privilege” and could be withheld. Finally, letters from the accrediting body setting forth the results of the accreditation review must be made available for public inspection and copying.