Christopher Burrell v. Department of Education (SPR 20201161)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 27, 2020 SPR20/1161 Matthew Connolly Department of Education 350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Matthew Connolly: I have received the petition of Christopher Burrell appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Education (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on June 25, 2020, Mr. Burrell requested various categories of records concerning the “Steering Committee on Access and Opportunity.” The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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); 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). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. Subsequent to the intervention by a member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the Department sent a letter to this office expressing it is in receipt of the appeal and is “in the process of searching for responsive records.” As of the date of this letter, it is my understanding that the Department has not provided Mr. Burrell a response to his request for records. 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

Matthew Connolly SPR20/1161 Page 2 July 27, 2020 Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Burrell with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations 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: Christopher Burrell