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Senate exempts public‑school employees’ home addresses from FOIA and creates task force on mass requests
Summary
The Senate approved substitute for Senate Bill 325 to exempt residential addresses of public school employees from Freedom of Information Act disclosure and to establish a task force to study mass FOIA requests (including AI‑generated requests); sponsors cited safety concerns and a chilling effect on classroom speech.
The Connecticut Senate voted to add public‑school employees (teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, counselors and others) to the list of professionals whose residential addresses are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The substitute bill also creates a task force to examine the handling of mass FOIA requests, including those generated or amplified by AI tools.
Senator Carr Wilcox, who brought the bill to the floor, said school employees face threats and a chilling effect that can hamper classroom debate and discourage people from entering or remaining in the profession. Supporters described the change as necessary to attract and retain educators amid a difficult classroom environment and emphasized the categorical nature of the exemption is comparable to protections already afforded to police officers, firefighters and judges in limited circumstances.
Opponents, including Senator Sampson, urged caution about expanding categorical FOIA exemptions and about broad application beyond those who face demonstrable risk; Sampson argued the public has a strong interest in transparency regarding publicly employed officials. After floor debate the Senate passed the substitute on a roll call; the clerk announced 36 total voting with 26 yes and 10 no on the day’s slate of votes that included this item.
