Katherine Stathulis, Esq. v. Taunton, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20231063)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 25, 2023 SPR23/1063 Superintendent John J. Cabral Superintendent of Schools Taunton Public Schools 215 Harris Street Taunton, MA 02780 Dear Superintendent Cabral: On May 19, 2023, this Office received the petition of Matthew J. Costa, Esq., of Gay & Gay, P.C., on behalf of the Taunton Public Schools (School) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the School furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On February 21, 2023, Katherine Stathulis, Esq. requested the following records: [1] An extract of your records management system or database that includes each school-related arrest and each referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced). Specifically we request an extract of the database to include the following columns: [a] Date of arrest or referral to law enforcement [b] Time of arrest or referral to law enforcement [c] Charge (or charges) [d] Whether the individual(s) was arrested or referred to law enforcement [e] Sex of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement [f] Age of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement [g] Race of individuals(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement [h] Ethnicity of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement [i] Disability status of the individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement [j] Whether the individual arrested or referred to law enforcement is a student at the school. [k] Name of arresting officer, if applicable, and 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

Superintendent John J. Cabral SPR23/1063 Page 2 May 25, 2023 [l] Badge number of the arresting officer or the officer that referred the youth to law enforcement, as applicable. [2] If such an extract of the database in question 1 is not possible, please provide school incident reports on each school-related arrest and referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021- 2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced). [3] A copy of any active standard operating procedures developed with the police department and/or other law enforcement agencies regarding police placement or activity in your corresponding school; and, [4] Any records instructing or informing police personnel of, or otherwise describing data reporting requirements and procedures for complying with G.L. c. 71, § 37P(b). [5] The cost to the school district of assigning a school resource officer to each school; and, [6] The total number of school resource officers and total number of guidance counselors for each school in your district for school years 2018-2019, 2019- 2020, 2020-2021, and, [7] The total number and brief description of 911 calls from schools in your district to local police department conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022, and, [8] A description of the proposed budget for mental, social, or emotional health support personnel for the school district. Previous Determination This request was the subject of a previous determination. See SPR23/0897 Determination -- of the Supervisor of Records (May 15, 2023). In my May 15th determination, I ordered the School to provide Attorney Stathulis with a response to her request. 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:

Superintendent John J. Cabral SPR23/1063 Page 3 May 25, 2023 (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 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) must 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 In its May 19, 2023 petition, the School states that it and the City of Taunton “have no record of receipt of this request in February of 2023.” The School also requests an extension of fifteen business days to provide a response. The School asserts: The reason for this request is the scope of the request, the need to review pertinent records for redaction of student information and the lack of a central location/record-keeper for the requested records. In particular, the requestor has requested “school incident reports on each school related arrest and referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced)”. It is the scope of this item that prompts Taunton Public Schools to request and extension of time. TPS operates twelve schools including two high schools (Taunton High School and Taunton Alternative High School); three middle schools, six elementary schools and a pre-school. There is no central data base for the information sought and therefore the Superintendent’s Office will need to inquire with each school to make sure that an accurate response is provided. The four year time frame broadens the scope of this request. Additionally, student information is generally

Superintendent John J. Cabral SPR23/1063 Page 4 May 25, 2023 not public record and therefore each responsive incident report will need to be reviewed and redacted to remove student record information. I find that in light of the capacity of the School to produce the records without the extension and the potential scope of redactions, the School has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the School an extension of 15 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Attorney Stathulis’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the School must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the School has established good cause for a time extension of 15 business days as described above. Please note, Attorney Stathulis 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, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Katherine Stathulis, Esq. Matthew J. Costa, Esq.