Laura H. Ortiz v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20233006)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 28, 2023 SPR23/3006 Charles Gallo, J.D. Compliance Officer/Records Access Officer Lynn Public Schools 100 Bennett Street Lynn, MA 01905 Dear Mr. Gallo: I have received the petition of Laura Ortiz appealing the response of the Lynn 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 December 4, 2023, Ms. Ortiz specified three emails that she herself sent to the School on October 26, October 16, and September 22, 2023, and for each email requested the following: Lynn Public Schools forwarded this email to countless persons, please provide a copy of all of these forwardings including any attachments The School responded on December 13, 2023, providing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Ms. Ortiz appealed, and this case was opened as a result. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the School provided a supplemental response to this office and Ms. on December 15, 2023. 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. Att’y for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of 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

Charles Gallo, J.D. SPR23/3006 Page 2 December 28, 2023 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. Current Appeal In her appeal petition, and in subsequent correspondence with this office, Ms. Ortiz contends that she seeks the “electronic emails in their original metadata format.” Further, Ms. Ortiz contends that she “asked Lynn Public schools to resend these forwarded emails in our preferred electronic original format, that doesn’t shield the public information of email senders addresses and email recipients addresses as required, but it is refusing to do so.” The School’s December 13th and December 15th Responses In its December 13, 2023 response, the School provides hundreds of pages of responsive records in pdf format without redaction. In its December 15, 2023 response, the School further explains the following: Copies of all forwardings were indeed compiled and provided in a searchable format by electronic means to the Requestor on December 13, 2023, 2:10 PM, without fee. . . . [C]opies were provided in a searchable, machine readable format. . . . The email addresses for named individuals ... are located throughout the document produced four (4) separate times. Those email addresses for the remainder are searchable and publicly available online at LynnSchools.Org. . . . [T]he names of everyone to whom the emails were forwarded is explicitly shown in the document provided to the Requestor and was in no way redacted or shielded, as claimed. . . . [T]he records requested in this case are almost entirely created by or in the possession of the Requestor prior to this request and subsequent appeal. Of the two hundred and twenty-six (226) pages of compiled emails, less than twelve (12) pages were not in the custody of the Requestor prior to the request. This amounts to approximately five percent (5%). Providing Records in Electronic Form Pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.07(1)(c), “the records access officer shall presume that a requester prefers copies provided in machine-readable electronic form, when electronic form is available, unless the requester specifies an alternative preference.” Also, “the records access officer must provide electronic records in native form when possible.” 950 C.M.R. 32.07(1)(d). Based on Ms. Ortiz’s appeal petition, and the School’s responses, it is unclear whether it is

Charles Gallo, J.D. SPR23/3006 Page 3 December 28, 2023 possible for the School to provide the responsive records in their native form. The School must clarify this. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Ortiz with a response to her 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Laura Ortiz