Nijan Datar v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (SPR 20220230)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 14, 2022 SPR22/0230 Andrew Shen Director of Special Projects Records Access Officer Acton-Boxborough Regional School District 15 Charter Road Acton, MA 01720 Dear Mr. Shen: I have received the petition of Nijan Datar appealing the response of the Acton- Boxborough Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 29, 2021, Mr. Datar requested the following records: A) Copies of any and all cellular telephone text messages … that were sent and/or re …including text messages from personal and school district phones, during the October 15, 2020, meeting of the Acton Boxborough Regional School Committee, which occurred from at or around 7:00 PM to at or around 9:56 PM, as recorded on the zoom meeting … a text message was sent from one member to another) … B) Copies of any and all cellular telephone text messages … that were sent and/or received by each Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee member and Superintendent … including text messages from personal and school district phones, during the December 17, 2020, meeting of the Acton Boxborough Regional School Committee, which occurred from at or around 7:00 PM to at or around 10:20 PM, as recorded on the zoom meeting … Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR22/0002 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 13, 2022). The District responded on January 28, 2021. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Datar petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0230, was opened as a result. 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

Andrew Shen SPR22/0230 Page 2 February 14, 2022 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 agency or municipality 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. The District’s January 28th response The District’s January 28th response advised, “… we again reached out to the public officials involved in [the] request and asked that they submit to us all messages in their possession that would be responsive to your request.” As a result, the District provided “…: [o]ne PDF document (attached to this letter), that includes screenshots of two separate text messages that were sent between members of the School Committee during the December 17, 2020 School Committee meeting.” The District further asserted, “… we have requested that all messages responsive to your request be submitted to us as these documents are not in possession of the District. The above- referenced texts from December 17, 2020 are the entirety of what has been provided and of which we are in possession.” Based on the District’s response, it is unclear whether there are additional records responsive to Mr. Datar’s request. The District must clarify this issue. Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Mr. Datar with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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.

Andrew Shen SPR22/0230 Page 3 February 14, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Nijan Datar