Lorenson, Allie v. Bristol Community College (SPR 20260360)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 13, 2026 SPR26/0360 Joyce Brennan Records Access Officer Bristol Community College 777 Elsbree Street Fall River, MA 02720 Dear Ms. Brennan: I have received the petition of Allie Lorenson appealing the response of Bristol Community College (College) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 22, 2026, Ms. Lorenson requested “records dated December 1, 2020 through September 1, 2023,” limited to the following: Email Records • Emails sent or received by [an identified individual] and/or emails sent by other faculty and staff that reference or include [identified names] (including reasonable variations of their names appearing in the subject line, message body, or “to/from” field). • Emails sent to or received from [an identified email address], as well as any other email addresses clearly associated with [identified individuals]. Calendar & Meeting Records • Calendar invitations, calendar entries, or meeting requests sent to or involving [identified individuals]. • Any associated meeting links or access information, including but not limited to Outlook calendar entries, Zoom links, Microsoft Teams links, or similar virtual meeting platforms. Previous Petition This request was the subject of a previous petition from the College. See SPR26/0354 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 5, 2026). In my February 5th determination, I granted the College an extension of 20 business days to respond to the request. Additionally, I found the College could assess a fee for the segregation and redaction of exempt 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

Joyce Brennan SPR26/0360 Page 2 February 13, 2026 material under Exemption (c) in the responsive records. In its petition dated February 4, 2026, the College also provided Ms. Lorenson with a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the College’s fee estimate, Ms. Lorenson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0360, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates – Agencies An agency 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). Agencies may not assess a fee for the first four (4) hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ii). Where appropriate, agencies 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. 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)(ii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The College’s February 4th Fee Esitmate In its February 4, 2026 petition, the College assessed a fee of $272.19 to provide the responsive records. In support of its fee estimate, the College provided the following information: Based on 113 emails, the College estimates a total of 395.5 pages (at 3.5 pages per email). Reviewing and segregating these records is estimated to take 4.94 staff hours at a rate of $25 per hour, resulting in 0.94 billable hours after the first four free hours. The segregation and review rate is 80 pages per hour, with a total of 395.5 estimated pages. Redaction is estimated to apply to 50% of the total pages (197.75 pages), at a redaction rate of 20 pages per hour (3 minutes per page). This redaction work is estimated to require 9.8875 hours, at $25 per hour, resulting in an estimated fee of $247.19. The total is $272.19. Calculation Service Hourly Billable Subtotal Estimated Estimate Notes Type Rate* Hours page per d Pages (After hour First 4 Free Hours)

Joyce Brennan SPR26/0360 Page 3 February 13, 2026 113 emails × 3.5 Segregate $25 1 $25 80 395.5 pages/email and = 395.5 pages; 45 Review sec/page → 80 pages/hour; 395.5 ÷ 80 = 4.94 − 4 free hours = 0.94 50% of 395.5 Redaction $25 10 $247.19 20 197.75 pages = 197.75 pages; 3 min/page → 20 pages/hour; 197.75 ÷ 20 = 9.8875 Total - - 11 $272.19 - - *Hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to complete the record request. The hourly rate shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) per hour and there is no charge for the first 4 hours of work. Segregation and redaction will only be performed as required by law, and any associated charges will be limited to those prescribed under Exemption (a) or attorney-client privilege. No charges will be applied for items not required to be redacted or segregated by law. Further, in its petition, the College explained its anticipated redactions as follows: The volume of records responsive to this request is extensive. Some documents may fall under MGL Chapter 4, Section 7(26)(a) and (c), as well as other protections related to employee privacy. Additionally, certain records may contain student education information protected under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits disclosure of personally identifiable student information without consent. These exemptions require careful review to ensure that any sensitive information is properly identified and redacted before disclosure. The request involves approximately 113 records that directly request the search of students by name and a former College employee. Per Allie Lorenson’s request, it is important to note that, while certain automated tools may assist in identifying potentially responsive records, Massachusetts Public Records Law (M.G.L. c. 66 and 950 CMR 32) requires careful human review to ensure proper application of all legal exemptions, including those related to employee privacy and FERPA- protected student information.

Joyce Brennan SPR26/0360 Page 4 February 13, 2026 Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Lorenson stated, “I respectfully ask that the Supervisor review whether the College’s fee estimate and claimed exemptions are consistent with the actual request and the requirements of the Massachusetts Public Records Law.” 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 College indicates that it will take 15 hours to segregate and redact the responsive records, it is unclear why the College requires this much time. In this case, the College stated that it is not assessing a fee for the first four (4) hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the requested records, and has confirmed that the lowest paid individual with the skill necessary to perform those tasks is paid $25.00 per hour. Further, the College has been granted permission to assess a fee to segregate and redact exempt information under Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law by the Supervisor of Records in SPR26/0354. However, the College must clarify why it requires 3 minutes and 45 seconds per page to segregate and redact the 50% of emails it anticipates redacting. Accordingly, I find the College must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee estimate of $272.19 is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). This office encourages the parties to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Ms. Lorenson may wish to narrow her request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (an agency 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 agency to

Joyce Brennan SPR26/0360 Page 5 February 13, 2026 produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any revision to the request would result in the requirement to issue a revised fee estimate. Conclusion Accordingly, the College is ordered to provide Ms. Lorenson 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. Ms. Lorenson may appeal the substantive nature of the College’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Allie Lorenson