John Hilliard v. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (SPR 20250927)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 11, 2025 SPR25/0927 Helene Bettencourt Records Access Officer Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148-4908 Dear Ms. Bettencourt: I have received the petition of John Hilliard, of the Boston Globe, appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 19, 2025, Mr. Hilliard requested “. . .[a]ll e-mails, cell phone text messages, or instant messages (i.e. Slack) sent or received by [an identified individual] from January 20, 2025, to the present with any of the following search terms in the message body, subject line, or any address fields. . .” Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Hilliard petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/0927, was opened as a result. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether the Department has provided a response. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Hilliard with a response to his 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. Mr. Hilliard may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: John Hilliard 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