Ziyad Hopkins, Esq. v. Boston, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20160125)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 10, 2016 SPR16/125 Ms. Nadra Chase Paralegal Office of the Legal Advisor -Boston Public Schools 2300 Washington Street, Boston MA 02119 Dear Ms. Chase: I have received the petition of Ziad Hopkins, Esq., appealing the response of the Boston Public School Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Attorney Hopkins requested copies of records involving the Department, the City of Boston Police and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The basis of this appeal is that at the time of his petition the Department had not properly responded to Attorney Hopkins' request. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. The Department is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. In a March 1, 2016 letter to the Public Records Division you confirmed that the Department had provided a response to Attorney Ziad. Whereas this matter was opened based upon the Department's failure to properly respond, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Attorney Ziad may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). To assist the Department in responding to requests for public records I have enclosed a copy of our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is also available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Nadra Chase SPR16/125 Page 2 March 10,2016 In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. cc: Ziad Hopkins, Esq.