Ellen Subramaniam v. Wellesley, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20242493)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 18, 2024 SPR24/2493 Lilian Malo Director of Human Resources Wellesley Public Schools 40 Kingsbury Street Wellesley, MA 02481 Dear Ms. Malo: I have received the petition of Ellen Subramaniam appealing the response of the Wellesley 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 August 6, 2024, Ms. Subramaniam requested, “…the matriculation data for [the School’s] Class of 2024. The data should include all college names and the number of [the School’s] students attending each college. Please also send the data for the [School’s] Class of 2023 as I’d like to check for any updates.” On August 28, 2024, the School acknowledged Ms. Subramaniam’s August 6th request, indicating, “[w]e are working on your request. [We] hope to give an update at the end of the week. Thank you.” On September 4, 2024, Ms. Subramaniam petitioned the Supervisor of Records, stating, “[t]his email constitutes a formal appeal of the lack of response within 10 business days from [the School] regarding my public records request dated August 6, 2024…” 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. 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

Lilian Malo SPR24/2493 Page 2 September 18, 2024 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. 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 School’s August 28th and September 9th responses The School provided Ms. Subramaniam with a response on August 28, 2024, acknowledging the request and indicating that it hoped to provide an update at the end of the week. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, on a September 9, 2024, the School’s Legal Counsel, Emily A. Meehan, Esq. of Harrington Heep, LLP, provided a response to Ms. Subramaniam and this office. In its September 9th response to this appeal, Attorney Meehan asserted, “[the School] is in receipt of your appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records pertaining to your request. [The School] intends to withhold the requested records and will provide you with a supplemental response detailing its reasons for doing so by the end of business day on September 18th.” Current Appeal In the appeal petition, Ms. Subramaniam stated, “[t]his email constitutes a formal appeal of the lack of response within 10 business days from [the School] regarding my public records request dated August 6, 2024…” On September 10, 2024, Ms. Subramaniam objected to the School’s September 9th response, indicating, “[u]nfortunately, the response you provided on September 9, 2024 is still woefully deficient. Although you have confirmed receipt of the request and notified me that you intend to withhold the requested records, you have failed to provide the following information as required by M.G.L. c. 66, §10(b):  Specific reasons you are withholding the records, including a citation to one of the statutory or common law exemptions upon which the records custodian relies and explain with specificity why the exemption applies (M.G.L. [c.] 66, § 10(b)(iv)); and  Advise the requestor of the right to seek redress through the administrative process provided by the [Supervisor] as well as the judicial remedy available in superior court. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3)(c). G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or

Lilian Malo SPR24/2493 Page 3 September 18, 2024 municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Ms. Subramaniam’s request was originally submitted on August 6, 2024 and the School has not provided responsive records, I find the School has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in 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); see also G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Subramaniam 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. Ms. Subramaniam may appeal the substantive nature of the School’s response within 90 calendar days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Ellen Subramaniam Emily A. Meehan, Esq., Harrington Heep, LLP