Penncrest Sch. Dist. v. Cagle, 2025 Pa. LEXIS 1258 (August 19, 2025) Mundy, Justice.
Judges: TODD, C.J., DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, BROBSON, McCAFFERY, JJ. Chief Justice Todd and Justices Brobson and McCaffery join the opinion. Justice Dougherty files a concurring and dissenting opinion. Justice Wecht files a dissenting opinion in which Justice Donohue joins.
The question is whether the Right-to-Know Law applies to a compelling disclosure of a Facebook post authored by members of a school board.
In a split en banc panel of the Commonwealth Court vacated the trial court’s order and remanded with instructions. The Commonwealth concluded that social media activity must comply with three criteria.
1. It must prove, support or evidence an agency’s transaction or activity
2. It was created, received or retained in connection with the agency’s transaction, business or activity.
3. It was created by, originated with, or possessed by the agency.
The Commonwealth Court explicitly disagreed with the trial court’s analysis. The Commonwealth Court vacated the lower court’s and remanded the matter to the trial court to expand the record is needed to resolve whether the board’s members social media activity constituted in agency records subject to disclosure under the RTKL.
The RTKL’s definition of a record is straightforward and identifies no type-specific tests. That said, we cannot ignore the fact that, although the RTKL contains only one definition of “record,” resolving whether a Facebook profile or page is a record “of an agency” requires the consideration of facts that would be relevant only to that particular form of communication, under those specific facts. Indeed, our case law is replete with case-specific examples of considerations undertaken by courts when assessing whether certain information is subject to disclosure under the law. We thus find no error in the Commonwealth Court’s decision to remand this matter to the trial court for further consideration under the RTKL’s well-established test.
The RTKL, a record is defined as information that documents a transaction or activity of an agency and is created, received, or retained pursuant to law or in connection with a transaction, business, or activity of the agency. Today, we reaffirm that this two-part inquiry is the only test to be utilized when determining whether disclosure of information, regardless of its form, is required under statute. As we find that the Commonwealth Court’s decision is not in tension with this test but rather, articulates reasonable facts that warrant consideration when resolving whether a social media post constitutes an agency record, we affirm the holding of the Commonwealth Court and remand the matter for further proceedings. Order affirmed.
• RTKL may include Facebook postings by an agency official.
• A record is defined as the information that documents a transaction or activity of an agency and is created, or received, or retained pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction, business or activity of the agency.
• The Commonwealth Court will be sustained and the matter remanded for further proceedings to see if the test is satisfied.
