Joseph W. Ford v. Attleboro, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20251053)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 28, 2025 SPR25/1053 David Sawyer Superintendent Attleboro Public School District 100 Rathbun Willard Drive Attleboro, MA 02703-2799 Dear Superintendent Sawyer: I have received the petition of Joseph Ford appealing the response of the Attleboro Public School District (District) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 30, 2025, Mr. Ford requested 108 categories of records relating to the funding, staffing, and efficacy of special education programs, complaints against District staff, and District policies regarding restraint and seclusion. Prior Appeal This request was the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR25/0823 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 1, 2025). In my April 1st determination, I found that the District intended to provide Mr. Ford with a further response, and ordered it to do so within ten business days. The District provided a response on April 15, 2025. Unsatisfied with the District’s response, Mr. Ford petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1053, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates – Municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first (two) 2 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the 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

David Sawyer SPR25/1053 Page 2 April 28, 2025 municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The District’s April 15th Response In its April 15, 2025, response, the District assessed a fee of $6,150.00 to provide Mr. Ford with responsive records. The District stated that it was required to redact responsive records pursuant to “… M.G.L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a), and FERPA, M.G.L c. 71, §§ 34D, 34E, and 603 CMR § 23.00.” The District assessed a rate of $25.00 per hour, and confirmed that the lowest paid employee with the skill necessary to respond to the request is compensated at a rate greater than $25.00 per hour. The District detailed its assessed fee as follows: In response to Request No. 1 and 2, you requested “Copies of any evaluations, progress reports, or data tracking student success rates in special education programs” from the last five years as well as “Records showing how many students in special education have met, exceeded, or failed to meet IEP goal[s]” from the last five years … there are well over a hundred thousand pages that would been [sic] responsive to this request. The District estimates it would take a minimum of thirty-five (35) hours to search for the requested records … [and] ninety (90) hours to segregate and redact … $3,125.00. In response to Request No. 10, you requested “Logs of all cases involving physical restraint, seclusion, or emergency removals for special education students” for the last five years … it would take one (1) hour to search for the requested records and one (1) hour to segregate and redact … $50.00. In response to Request No. 11, you requested “[a]ny incident reports, justifications, and follow-up communications response regarding these cases.” You indicated in this request you are referring to all reported instances of physical restraint and seclusion for the last five years … there are well over one hundred (100) pages that would been [sic] responsive to this request. The District estimates it would take a minimum of two (2) hours to search for the requested records … [and] at least three (3) hours to segregate and redact … $125.00. In response to Request No. 12, “[p]arental notification records ensuring compliance with Massachusetts law.” You wrote in your request you are referring

David Sawyer SPR25/1053 Page 3 April 28, 2025 to all reported instances of physical restraint and seclusion for the last five years … there are roughly six hundred (600) [pages] responsive to this request. The District estimates that it would take four (4) hours to search for the requested records and six (6) hours to segregate and redact … $250.00. In response to Request No. 15, 16, and 19 you requested “[c]opies of all complaints filed against staff for improper use of behavioral interventions;” “[a]ny district or DESE investigations into seclusion or restraint policy violations;” and “[a]ny discussions or records of concerns raised by parents, teachers, or external agencies” … there are roughly one hundred (100) pages responsive to this request. The District estimates that it would take one (1) hour to search for the requested records and two (2) hours to segregate and redact … $ 75.00. In response to Request No. 20, you requested “Copies of all complaints submitted by parents, staff, or students’ regarding misconduct or improper actions by special education personnel” for the last ten years … it would take five (5) hours to search for the requested records and five (5) hours to segregate and redact … $250.00. In response to Request No. 21, you requested “Records of any investigations conducted, including case notes, findings, and district responses.” You indicate in your response you are specifically referencing “[a]ll Complaints Filed Against Special Education Teachers & Aides” for the last ten years … it would take five (5) hours to search for the requested records and one (1) hour to segregate and redact … $150.00. In response to Request No. 22, you requested “Any documentation of disciplinary actions taken against special education staff” specifically you are requesting these documents for the last ten years … it would take five (5) hours to search for the requested records and one (1) hour to segregate and redact the … $150.00. In response to Request No. 28 and 29, you requested “[a]ll documentation related to why [an identified individual’s] classroom does not have a full-time licensed special education teacher,” You also requested “[a]ny reports submitted to DESE or internal district memos acknowledging this issue” … there are roughly four (4) pages responsive to this request. The District asserts it would take one (1) hour to search for the requested records and one (1) hour to segregate and redact … $50.00. In response to Request No. 37 you requested “[e]xit [i]nterviews & [s]urveys from Departing Special Education Staff Reasons cited for leaving.” You also requested “[a]ny reports indicating concerns about work conditions, pay disparities, or lack of administrative support.” Because you did not specify a

David Sawyer SPR25/1053 Page 4 April 28, 2025 timeframe for this request, the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years … there are roughly fifteen (15) pages responsive to this request … it would take two (2) hours to search for the requested records and one (1) hour to segregate and redact … $75.00 … In response to Request No. 59 and 60, you requested “[c]opies of all formal complaints submitted by parents regarding special education services,” and “[d]ocumentation of district response, including whether corrective actions were taken.” For the last ten years … there are roughly four hundred (400) pages responsive to this request … it would take eight (8) hours to search for the requested records and twelve (12) hours to segregate and redact … $500.00. In response to Request No. 61, you requested “[i]nternal emails discussing parent complaints and how the district planned to handle them.” You specify you are requesting documents from the last ten years … there are hundreds of thousands of documents responsive to this request. The District estimates it would take fifteen (15) hours to search for the requested records and ten (10) hours to segregate and redact … $625.00. In response to Request No. 62 and 63, you requested “[c]opies of all mandated reports filed by staff related to incidents involving special education students.” You also requested “documentation verifying compliance with Massachusetts mandated reporting law.” Because you did not specify a timeframe for this request, the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years … the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years. The District estimates that there are roughly fifty (500) pages responsive to this request. The District estimates it would take four (4) hours to search for the requested records and two (2) hours to segregate and redact … $150.00. In response to Request No. 64, you requested “[r]ecords showing if mandated reports resulted in investigations and what actions followed” … [t]he District estimates that it would take three (3) hours to search for the requested records … $75.00. In response to Request No. 65 and 66, you requested “[e]mails, memos, and reports discussing how the district has handled special education complaints.” You also requested “[a]ny records of meetings or strategy sessions held in response to parent concern.” Because you did not specify a timeframe for this request, the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years … the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years. The District estimates that there are roughly one thousand (1000) pages responsive to this request. The District estimates that it

David Sawyer SPR25/1053 Page 5 April 28, 2025 would take five (5) hours to search for the requested records and five (5) hours to segregate and redact … $250.00. In response to Request No. 83, you requested “[a]ny records of staff shortages impacting services for students with disabilities.” Because you did not specify a timeframe for this request, the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years … the District will search, segregate, and redact responsive documents from the last five years. The District estimates that it would take five (5) hours to search for the requested records and five (5) hours to segregate and redact … $250.00. Fee Waivers G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(v) provides the following with respect to waiving a fee for the production of responsive records: the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee charged under this subsection upon a showing that disclosure of a requested record is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor, or upon a showing that the requestor lacks the financial ability to pay the full amount of the reasonable fee. Please be advised, although the Supervisor may encourage fees to be waived, the Supervisor may not mandate that a records access officer waive fees assessed for complying with a public records request; rather, as described above, the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee upon a showing of various factors. See G. L. c. 66, § 10 (d)(v); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(k). Reasonableness of the Fee Estimate Although the District has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing responsive documents for production will take 52 hours of search time and 63 hours of segregation and redaction time, the District has not provided sufficient explanation of why this amount of employee time is necessary. Specifically, the District must provide additional information regarding the tasks involved in producing the records responsive to Requests Number 10, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29, 37, 64, and 83. The District must also clarify how many pages of records it possesses which are responsive to Requests Number 10, 20, 21, 22, 64, and 83. For the reasons discussed above, I find the District must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee of $6,150.00 assessed in its April 15, 2025 estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d).

David Sawyer SPR25/1053 Page 6 April 28, 2025 This office encourages Mr. Ford and the District to communicate further in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any revision to the request would result in the requirement to issue a revised fee estimate. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(a) Please be advised that the Office of the Supervisor of Records is statutorily empowered with the authority to determine the public record status of government records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10. In compliance with the Public Records Law, the Supervisor of Records may only issue determinations where a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10 has been alleged. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A(a). Where the alleged violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act does not constitute a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10A(a), I am unable to address such issues in this determination. Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Mr. Ford 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. Mr. Ford may appeal the substantive nature of the District’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Joseph Ford Michael J. Joyce, Esq.