On January 21, 2026, the North Dakota Attorney General’s office responded to a request for an opinion regarding the Williston Basin School District No. 7 and its handling of open records. Tom Simon asked whether the school district violated state law by not providing the legal authority for redactions made to public records.
The Attorney General’s office concluded that the Williston Basin School District substantially complied with North Dakota Century Code § 44-04-18. According to the opinion, “The District substantially complied with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 by providing the requester with the legal authority for the redactions verbally on the day he picked up the records.”
A copy of this opinion is available online: Link to opinion 2026-O-02.
