John Hilliard v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20250727)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 28, 2025 SPR25/0727 Grace Jung Records Access Officer City of Boston 1 City Hall Square, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Ms. Jung: I have received the petition of John Hilliard, of the Boston Globe, appealing the response of the Boston 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 29, 2025, Mr. Hilliard requested the following: [1] Any emails, text messages, or instant messages (ie Slack) sent or received by [identified individuals] related to migrant students[;] [2] To narrow the scope of this request, I seek emails, text messages, or instant messages since Nov. 5, 2024[;] [3] Any statements, alerts, or announcements that were sent to internal staff or made publicly related to migrant students since Nov. 5, 2024[.] The School provided a response on February 12, 2025, assigning the request reference number R000455-012925. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Mr. Hilliard petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/0727, 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. 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

Grace Jung SPR25/0727 Page 2 March 28, 2025 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 February 12th response In its February 12, 2025 response, the School advised Mr. Hilliard “[d]ue to the nature of your request, additional time is needed. As such, the School will need up to, but no more than, fifteen (15) additional business days to review and process your request.” Timeliness in providing records 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 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 Mr. Hilliard’s request was originally submitted on January 29, 2025, and the School has not provided the responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding 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). Accordingly, I find the School must provide an estimated date as to when it expects to complete its review and provide any responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the School must provide responsive records on a rolling basis.

Grace Jung SPR25/0727 Page 3 March 28, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Hilliard with a response, 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. Mr. Hilliard 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: John Hilliard