Flavia Perea v. Somerville, City of (SPR 20211001)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 22, 2021 SPR21/1001 Francis X. Wright, Jr., Esq. City Solicitor City of Somerville 93 Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02143 Dear Attorney Wright: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Somerville (City) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the City furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Flavia Perea. Id. On March 22, 2021, Ms. Perea requested the following: 1) “Written communications, including emails and letters, sent and/or received by at least one employee, agent, or representative of the City of Somerville and all of its departments and agencies regarding [an identified individual] or the investigation we requested on his behalf, from November 12, 2019 to the present day, including but not limited to: a. Mayor's Office; b. City Hall; c. Somerville City Council; d. Somerville Police Department (i.e. Incident# 19064757); e. Health and Human Services; f. Somerville School Committee; and g. Somerville Public Schools (for any communications that are not considered part of [the identified individual’s] student record, as we have submitted a separate Student Records Request for those to the Somerville Public Schools). 2) Policies and procedures within the Somerville Public Schools in effect on November 12, 2019 for reporting to the Department of Children and Families; 3) Policies and procedures within the Somerville Public Schools in effect on November 12, 2019 for reporting to the Somerville Police Department; 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

Francis X. Wright, Jr., Esq. SPR21/1001 Page 2 April 22, 2021 4) Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and all other agreements that the Somerville Public Schools had with any other agency or organization on November 12, 2019, including but not limited to the Somerville Police Department and the Office of the Middlesex County District Attorney. 5) Policies in effect on November 12, 2019 for responding to reports of behavioral incidents a) at the Argenziano School and b) at the elementary school level generally within the Somerville Public Schools; 6) Prior to November 12, 2019, documentation showing when teachers and staff were last trained regarding their responsibilities as mandated reporters to the Department of Children and Families and the written materials used in the training for a) the Argenziano School and b) the Somerville Public Schools; 7) Documentation produced by the School Committee as a result of our request for an independent investigation into how the Somerville Public Schools responded to the report of a behavioral issue with [an identified individual] on November 12, 2019; and 8) Policies and procedures in effect on November 12, 2019 for the School Committee to conduct an independent investigation regarding complaints about the Somerville Public Schools.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended

Francis X. Wright, Jr., Esq. SPR21/1001 Page 3 April 22, 2021 for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition The City initially provided a response to Ms. Perea dated March 23, 2021. In its March 23rd response, the City acknowledged the request stating “[g]iven the sheer amount of documentation you have requested requiring multiple searches to be conducted on a number of City systems, City staff continuing to work remotely, and the sensitive nature of many of the documents you have requested which require careful and very thoughtful consideration prior to withholding or release, the City of Somerville plans to take the extra 15 business days allowed for under the Massachusetts Public records law to respond to the below and attached requests.” In its April 20th petition, the City requests “an extension of time in which to respond to the attached (and below) public records request, pursuant to 950 CMR 32.06 (4)(e).” The City states “[g]iven the breadth of this request and my discussions with the City of Somerville School Superintendent and School Department last week on the time needed to produced responsive documents, the City of Somerville respectfully requests an additional 30 business days to respond to this request as may be granted by the Supervisor pursuant to 950 CMR 32.06(4)(e). Particularly request # 1 has involved an extensive search with multiple keywords conducted by three different IT departments- City wide, schools, and police- and City departments which is still being undergone and is likely to yield hundreds of emails and documents requiring careful review and redaction.” I find that in light of the capacity of the City to produce the request without the extension, the potential scope of redactions, as well as efforts undertaken by the City in fulfilling the request, the City has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the City an extension of 30 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Ms. Perea’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the City has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days as described above.

Francis X. Wright, Jr., Esq. SPR21/1001 Page 4 April 22, 2021 Please note, Ms. Perea has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Flavia Perea Shannon T. Phillips, Esq.