Daniel DeFraia v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20241781)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 24, 2024 SPR24/1781 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Records Access Officer City of Boston One City Hall Plaza, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Daniel DeFraia, PhD appealing the response of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66 § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 10, 2024, Mr. DeFraia requested, “[a] single Excel document on physical student restraint incidents in Boston Public Schools that contains, among other data, narrative reports of the restraint incident. The date range for this Excel document is the school year of 2021 to the day of this request, 1/10/2024.” Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR24/1052 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 12, 2024). In my April 12th determination, the City was ordered to provide Mr. DeFraia with a response. Subsequently, the City provided a response on June 3, 2024. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. DeFraia petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/1781, 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. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also 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

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR24/1781 Page 2 June 24, 2024 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. See 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. The City’s June 3rd Response In its June 3, 2024 response, the City states that it provided responsive records to Mr. DeFraia. Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. DeFraia advised that the response was incomplete. “[y]ou’ll notice that the Excel sheet provided does not include narrative reports of incidents or additional relevant information, such as the name of the school where the incident occurred. In my original request, I had requested that information, specifically. And, … I know BPS maintains this information, since I’ve obtained this information before. So, it seems, BPS provided a partial record.…” In light of the above, it is unclear if the City possesses any additional records responsive to the request. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Consequently, the City must clarify whether additional records exist. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. DeFraia 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Daniel DeFraia, PhD