Megan Hamilton-McKeon v. Falmouth, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20240157)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 30, 2024 SPR24/0157 Sharon Reid Executive Assistant Falmouth Public Schools 340 Teaticket Highway Falmouth, MA 02536 Dear Ms. Reid: I have received the petition of Megan Hamilton-McKeon appealing the response of the Falmouth 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 January 16, 2024, Ms. Hamilton-McKeon requested “copies of [her] emails from the last half of [her] employment.” The School provided a response on January 17, 2024. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Ms. Hamilton-McKeon petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0157, was opened as a result. 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. 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

Sharon Reid SPR24/0157 Page 2 January 30, 2024 The School’s January 17th Response In its January 17, 2024 response, the School stated that “[Ms. Hamilton-McKeon’s] request continues to be overly broad and unduly burdensome and encompasses emails that very likely contain confidential student information. We can only provide a meaningful response if [she] narrow[s] the scope of [her] request and provide sufficient details regarding the emails [she is] seeking.” In a response sent on January 24, 2024, the School stated: [W]hile there are no strict rules that govern the manner in which requests for public records must be made a requestor must provide the Records Access Officer with a reasonable description of the desired information. Ms. Hamilton-McKeon has wholly failed to do so with her requests… [S]he has not stated whether she wants all emails she sent out, all emails sent to her, or both – she very broadly and vaguely asks for “my emails.” In any event, search of our system… has revealed at least 4,377 emails to and from Ms. Hamilton-McKeon using her school email address during her tenure with the Falmouth Public Schools, and at least 3,192 emails to and from Ms. Hamilton-McKeon using her school email address during the last half of her employment… In addition to the overly broad, unduly burdensome, and vague nature of Ms. Hamilton-McKeon’s request, [the School] maintains that many of the emails to and from Ms. Hamilton-McKeon’s school email address could very likely be exempt from the Public Records Law under Exemption (a)… and Exemption (c)… Current appeal In her appeal, Ms. Hamilton-McKeon asserts, “[t]he request of January 16, 2024 to narrow was met…” Reasonable Description of Records Sought A public records request must reasonably describe the records sought. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(i). In Chawla, the Superior court found that under the Public Records Law “[t]he reasonable description requirement contemplates that a requesting party will identify documents or categories of documents with sufficient particularity that government employees will be able to understand exactly what they are looking for, and then make a prompt production.” See Jaideep Chawla v. Dept of Revenue, Suffolk. Sup. No. l 784CV02087, at 2 (January 23, 2019). Conclusion Based on the forgoing, I find it is unclear what specific records Ms. Hamilton-McKeon is requesting. Ms. Hamilton-McKeon may wish to modify or clarify her request to the School in order to provide the sufficient particularity needed in order to search the School’s records.

Sharon Reid SPR24/0157 Page 3 January 30, 2024 Specifically, she may wish to provide the School with specific records related to the identified individual in question or a specific time period regarding the records she is seeking. G. L. c 66, § 10(a)(i) (the request must reasonably describe the public record sought). Upon clarification, the School must provide a response within 10 business days. Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Megan Hamilton-McKeon