Joseph Smith v. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (SPR 20211518)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 1, 2021 SPR21/1518 Helene Bettencourt Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant Street Malden MA, 02148 Dear Ms. Bettencourt: I have received the petition of Joseph Smith appealing the nonresponse of 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). Specifically, Mr. Smith requested copies of any emails that were sent with a particular file attachment. 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, § l0(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § l0(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal and a communication from a member of the Public Records Division staff, it is unclear whether a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Smith with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. 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, .() .11 ~ ~ ~ - ~0 1CUJW,(J. ~~ · Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Joseph Smith 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