Office of Information Practices

Opinion Letter No. 95-10
May 4, 1995
Law School Applicant Information is Confidential

[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.]

The William S. Richardson School of Law critically assesses an applicant’s scholastic record, SAT scores, personal achievements, and other factors to determine admission. The privacy interests of those unsuccessful applicants in the fact and status of their applications outweighs the public interest in knowing who they are. Public disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of each applicant. Therefore, the names and application status of individuals who applied for admission, but who have not been admitted, should not be publicly disclosed.

However, applicant records may be shared between law school officers and employees who have a “need to know” in the performance of their duties. Such information may be disclosed to other government agencies only to the extent it is not prohibited by 92F-19(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, which restricts inter-agency sharing of confidential information.

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