Gary Floyd v. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (SPR 20200842)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 9, 2020 SPR20/0842 Helene Bettencourt Associate Commissioner Primary Records Officer Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms. Bettencourt: I have received the petition of Gary Floyd appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Floyd requested several records in the Division’s possession, specifically related to Department emails. Having received no response, he petitioned this office. Appeal Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of the response. It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records, or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. V. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Helene Bettencourt SPR20/0842 Page 2 June 9, 2020 Conclusion It is my understanding that the Department indicated it is working on providing Mr. Floyd a response to his request for records. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Floyd any requested records in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order as soon as practicable. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Greg Floyd