Brian Foley v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20252822)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 3, 2025 SPR25/2822 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 Brian Foley appealing the response of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 19, 2025, Mr. Foley requested the following: [1] The number of students placed in K0, K1, & K2 at the Eliot School during the 24-25 school year which BPS assigned to students without these students going through the lottery system (i.e., there were 149 seats in K0-K2 for the 24-25 school year – the information I am looking for is how many of these 149 placements were assigned via the lottery system and how many were manually assigned via a BPS policy that allowed a student to override the lottery?). This shall be broken down via zip code[;] [2] the zip code composition of the waiting list for K0, K1, & K2 at the Eliot School for the 24-25 school year (latest wait list available which I believe would have been Jan. 31, 2025)[;] [3] The student composition by zip code of the Warren Prescott School for the 24- 25 school year (latest wait list available which I believe would have been Jan 31, 2025)[;] [4] The zip code composition of the waiting list of K0, K1, & K2 for the Warren Prescott School for the 24-25 school year (latest wait list available which I believe would have been Jan 31, 2025)[;] [5] The student composition by zip code of the Harvard Kent school for K0, K1, & K2 for the 24-25 school year (same as what was provided to me on 8/18 for the Eliot School)[;] [6] The zip code composition of the waiting list for K0, K1, & K2 for the Harvard Kent School for the 24-25 school year (latest wait list available which I believe would have been Jan 31, 2025). 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 SPR25/2822 Page 2 October 3, 2025 The City responded on September 3, 2025, assigning the request reference number R004282-081925. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Foley petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2527, was opened as a result. Subsequently, on September 26, 2025, the City provided an additional response. 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. 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. See 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 City’s September 3rd Response In its September 3, 2025 response, the City stated, “[d]ue to the nature of your request, additional time is needed. As such the City will need up to, but no more than, fifteen (15) additional business days to review and process your request.” Current Appeal In his September 25, 2025 petition to this office, Mr. Foley stated, “[t]he City wrote back on Sept 3 stating that they needed a total of 25 business days from the date of my initial request to fulfill it. That time has come and gone and the City has not provided any records.” In a September 26, 2025 email communication, the City stated, “I have alerted representatives from the department regarding this matter in an effort to resolve any outstanding issues regarding your public records request. I will provide an update to you once additional information is provided to me by the department.”

Grace Jung SPR25/2822 Page 3 October 3, 2025 Timeframe for Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of a 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 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. Foley submitted his request on August 19, 2025, and the City has not provided responsive records, I find the City has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Foley 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. Mr. Foley may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Brian Foley