Colman Herman v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20253816)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 12, 2026 SPR25/3816 Grace Jung Director of Public Records City of Boston 1 City Hall Square, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Ms. Jung: I have received the petition of Colman Herman 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 November 23, 2025, Mr. Herman requested, “copies of any all [sic] reports on student-on-student sexual misconduct for academic years 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025- 2026.” The City responded on December 9, 2025. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Herman petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3816, was opened as a result. While this appeal was pending, the City provided a supplemental response in an email to Mr. Herman and copied to this office on December 30, 2025, which Mr. Herman further appealed in an email to the City and this office on the same date. 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 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 SPR25/3816 Page 2 January 12, 2026 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. Current Appeal In his December 29, 2025 appeal to this office, Mr. Herman explains that following the City’s initial December 9th response, he “asked [the City] for the status of the rolling production” in an email dated “December 24, 2025 . . . having not received any of the responsive records[.]” He further states that the City “did not respond to [his] inquiry” and asks the Supervisor to “order the City of Boston to produce the responsive records for the school year 2023-2024.” Upon review of the appeal, it appears Ms. Herman is not objecting to the fee estimate provided by the City for the production of records responsive to 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. In his further appeal of the City’s supplemental December 30, 2025 response, Mr. Herman states, “. . . [the City] continues to fail to comply with the public records law, which specifies clear deadlines. . . . The City’s December 9th and December 30th Responses In its December 9, 2025 response, the City stated that the records responsive to “school year 2023-2024 will be produced . . . via email on a rolling basis” and noted, “[t]here is no fee associated with this portion of [the] request.” The City additionally provided a fee estimate of $1,460.00 for the production of records responsive to “the remainder of [Mr. Herman’s] request,” or “records from school years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026.” In its supplemental December 30, 2025 response, the City provided a copy of its above December 9th fee estimate and advised, “Mr. Herman’s request . . . was responded to with the attached fee estimate.” The City further noted that “[t]he records for a rolling production continue to be under review by Public Records and Boston Public Schools.” 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

Grace Jung SPR25/3816 Page 3 January 12, 2026 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. Herman submitted his request on November 23, 2025, and the City stated in its December 9th response that records responsive to “school year 2023-2024 will be produced . . . via email on a rolling basis” while noting, “[t]here is no fee associated with this portion of [the] request[,]” it is unclear why the City has not provided the records. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5); see also G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). The City must provide Mr. Herman with a date that the City will commence production of the records responsive to academic year 2023-2024. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Herman with a response to the portion of his request regarding academic year 2023-2024, 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Colman Herman