Jules Goonewardena v. Massachusetts College of Art and Design (SPR 20252331)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 13, 2025 SPR25/2331 Brendan O’Bryan Records Access Officer Office of the President Massachusetts College of Art and Design 621 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115 Dear Mr. O’Bryan: On August 11, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (College) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the College furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Jules Goonewardena. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On August 6, 2025, Jules Goonewardena requested “[a] complete list of course syllabi for all undergraduate and graduate courses offered during the most recent academic semester, which [I] understand to be Spring 2025. This request includes syllabi for all courses across all departments, schools, and colleges, whether offered in-person, online, or in hybrid formats. . .” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same 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

Brendan O’Bryan SPR25/2331 Page 2 August 13, 2025 requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) must provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition, the College requests “an extension of 20 days in order to respond to the below request to produce all course syllabi for Spring 2025” and provides the following information in support of its request: [T]he reason for this extension request is that this request is for a large amount of information which is likely held by numerous different custodians. Further, many custodians of the requested information may be difficult to reach during the summer academic period. Moreover, some of the content requested may be protected by various exemptions to the Commonwealth’s public records laws and therefore this request will require a thorough review of all of the information covered by the request before we are able to provide any information to the requestor. In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the College to produce the records without an extension, the College has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The College is granted an extension of 20 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the College has established good cause for a time extension of 20 business days. Please note, Jules Goonewardena has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c).

Brendan O’Bryan SPR25/2331 Page 3 August 13, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jules Goonewardena