Public Records Exemption Index Va. Code § 2.2-3705 Updated continuously
Virginia’s exclusions from FOIA are permissions, not commands. The University of Virginia has invoked them
— times, none of them required- Discretionary invocations
- —the custodian holds the choice
- Compelled by statute
- —across the whole portfolio
- “No records” responses
- —§ 2.2-3704(B)(3), not an exemption
- Code sections cited
- ——
The operative sentence
One clause governs all of it
…excluded from the mandatory disclosure provisions of this chapter but may be disclosed by the custodian in his discretion, except where such disclosure is prohibited by law.
Opening words of § 2.2-3705.1, § 2.2-3705.2, § 2.2-3705.4 and § 2.2-3705.7
Two things follow. The University cannot say the law forced its hand, because the law leaves the choice to the custodian. And the final clause is real: where another statute prohibits release, discretion ends. That clause does most of its work on student records, where the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act may bar disclosure regardless of what Virginia permits.
Worth knowing
The threat assessment exemption has a limit written into it
§ 2.2-3705.4(A)(8) shields information held by a university threat assessment team. The same subdivision then removes that shield: where a person who has been under assessment commits, or is prosecuted for, an act causing the death of or serious bodily injury to another person, the team’s information about that individual shall be made available — excepting criminal history records, health records and scholastic records. The public body must remove identifying information of anyone who spoke to the team under a promise of confidentiality.
The carve-out is not an argument anyone has to win. It is in the statute.
§ 2.2-3705.4(A)(8) (opens the Code of Virginia in a new tab)
How this is counted
Where the figures come from. Each count is the number of requests in this portfolio on which the University cited that Code section. A single request citing three sections appears three times, once under each.
What the descriptions are. Every description is taken from the current text of the Code of Virginia, not from the University’s characterisation of it. Where a subdivision sets a condition or a carve-out, it is shown as a limit beneath the description.
Where the text is unconfirmed. Two law-enforcement sections are shown without a description. They are structured differently from the exclusions above, with mandatory releases alongside discretionary ones, and their subdivision text has not been confirmed against the current Code. Nothing is guessed.
Corrections. Every citation can be checked against the linked statute, and corrections are welcome and will be made promptly.
Statutory text checked —
The standard
Read the sections yourself
Procedure and permitted answers
How a public body must respond, which four answers it may give, and what each response must identify and cite. § 2.2-3704 (opens the Code of Virginia in a new tab)
Exclusions of general application
Personnel information, attorney-client advice, litigation work product, closed-meeting records, vendor software, contract negotiations and financial account numbers. § 2.2-3705.1 (opens the Code of Virginia in a new tab)
Educational records
Scholastic records, letters of recommendation, research proprietary information, medical centre business information, fundraising records and threat assessment teams. § 2.2-3705.4 (opens the Code of Virginia in a new tab)
Specific public bodies
Working papers and correspondence of named officers — including the president or other chief executive officer of a public institution of higher education. § 2.2-3705.7 (opens the Code of Virginia in a new tab)
Every citation on this page links to the official text on the Commonwealth’s own site. The full statute is the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Va. Code § 2.2-3700 et seq. (opens the Code of Virginia in a new tab) — this page summarises only the provisions the University has invoked.