Mary Kate McGowan v. Shrewsbury, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20232423)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 24, 2023 SPR23/2423 Christian Girardi Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Shrewsbury Public Schools 15 Parker Road Shrewsbury, MA 01545 Dear Mr. Girardi: I have received the petition of Mary Kate McGowan appealing the response of the Shrewsbury Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 4, 2023, Ms. McGowan requested “… [the School’s] special education policies and procedures. These are the documents that a district is required to have – and to make available to the public – as a condition of IDEA Part B funding. The district agreed to have these documents when it signed the Conditions of Assistance and you are also required to provide them upon request.” On October 11, 2023, the School provided Ms. McGowan with two documents. As a result of receiving the two documents, Ms. McGowan petitioned the Supervisor of Records and this appeal was opened. 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) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see 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

Christian Girardi SPR23/2423 Page 2 October 24, 2023 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). If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Current Appeal On October 11, 2023, the School provided Ms. McGowan with the “Shrewsbury’s Final Tiered Focused Monitoring Report February 22, 2022” and “Shrewsbury’s Conditions of Assistance.” In her petition, Ms. McGowan asserts, “[t]oday, I received a response from the [School]. As the attached letter shows, they sent documents but not the requested policies and procedures.” Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, on October 20, 2023, the School emailed this office, asserting, “…[t]he submission . . . on October 11, 2023 was a good faith submission based on our team’s determination of the records request. It did include, as an attachment, the Tiered Focus Monitoring Report from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that we believed contained the information that was sought. As Ms. McGowan indicated that this was not what she was seeking, we are determining what other documents may be responsive and will have an updated response next week.” Based on the School’s October 20th response, I encourage the parties to continue to communicate to enable Ms. McGowan to receive the specific records she requested. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. McGowan with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. If issues remain, Ms. McGowan may appeal the substantive nature of the School’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Christian Girardi