DESE Stakeholder Emails 2021
Overview
Public records request to DESE for emails with outside stakeholders regarding mandates 1/1/21-9/15/21. Received mass mailings about BESE meeting agendas.
Response 1
Sept 1, 2021 - Sept 7, 2021 Emails
August - Sept 2021 Emails.
June - July 2021 Emails.
Response 2
State Defendants Memo Opposing PI
Selection of 80% Threshold
Request 1
RE: September 15 2021 - Request for Public Records Responsive to Commissioner Riley and Commissioner's Office Staff Persons and Email Accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org, Including if being cc'd.
ALL records responsive to the public records that we seek:
1. All emails exchanged between Commissioner Jeffrey C Reilly and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Commissioner Jeffrey C Reilly was cc'd from one, thank you.
2. All emails exchanged between Chief of Staff Leldamy Correa and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Chief of Staff Leldamy Correa was cc'd from one, thank you.
3. All emails exchanged between External Partnerships Director Jessica Leitz and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if External Partnerships Director Jessica Leitz was cc'd from one, thank you.
4. All emails exchanged between Senior Advisor Commissioner Erin McMahon and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Senior Advisor Commissioner Erin McMahon was cc'd from one, thank you.
5. All emails exchanged between Deputy Commissioner Regina Robertson and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Deputy Commissioner Regina Robertson was cc'd from one, thank you.
6. All emails exchanged between Deputy Chief of Staff Jass Stewart and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Deputy Chief of Staff Jass Stewart was cc'd from one, thank you.
7. All emails exchanged between Program Coordinator Courtney Sullivan for the Board and External Partnerships and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Program Coordinator Courtney Sullivan was cc'd from one, thank you.
8. All emails exchanged between Senior Project Planner Victor Ukatu and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Senior Project Planner Victor Ukatu was cc'd from one, thank you.
9. All emails exchanged between Stephen Zrike, Commissioners Office and email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org; including if Stephen Zrike was cc'd from one, thank you.
For all the above 1-9, Date ranges 1/1/21-9/15/21 and regardless the format, regardless the location, and we would like to receive these records electronically, thank you,
In addition we request a fee waiver, and for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to waive ALL fees given the great public interest and to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in our beloved state government while we the people request to gain access reasonably to our public records that DESE custodians for us, thank you
Request 2
(DESE RAO combined two separate requests into one)
[11/24/21 2nd Narrowing Scope Request (combining 2 PR's)
(A) Recommendation to Authorize Commissioner to Require masks.
(i) emails to/from Jeff Riley including ones on which he is CC'd from June 1, 2021-present which contain search terms “Covid 19”, “Mask”, “Vaccination” and/or “mandate”
(ii) emails to/from BESE members including ones on which they are CC'd from June 1, 2021-present which contain search terms “Covid 19”, “Mask”, “Vaccination” and/or “mandates”
(iii) Invoices, contracts, and receipts from December 1, 2020 to present that contain any of the search words “Covid 19”, “Mask”, “Vaccination”, “mandates”, “DPH”, “Pfizer”, “Moderna”, “Johnson and Johnson”.
11/24/21 Narrowing of scope for DESE, 12/6/21 further Narrowing of Scope DESE
B) Return to School Working Group.
(i) ALL Meeting Minutes, Exhibits, Attendance Sheets for June 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020
(ii) ALL emails sent to/from members of the Return to School Working Group from June 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020, including emails on which they were CC'd, that contain the following search terms “Return to School Working Group” and/or "RSWG" and/or “Covid”, and/or "coronavirus" and/or “mask”, “vaccination”
(iii) ALL emails sent to/from members of the Return to School Working Group from June 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020, including emails on which they were CC'd, that contain the following search terms “DPH” and/or “Pfizer” and/or “Moderna” and/or “Johnson and Johnson”
(iv) Stakeholders: ALL emails sent to/from members of the Return to School Working Group from June 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020 to present, including emails on which they were CC'd, that contain the following search terms "MTA" and\or "Massachusetts Teacher's Association" and/or "MASC" and/or "Massachusetts Association of School Committees" and\or "MASS" and/or "Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents" and\or "stakeholders"
(v) Stakeholder representatives: ALL emails sent to/from members of the Return to School Working Group from June 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020, including emails on which they were CC'd, that also include any of the following individuals on the to, from, CC, or BCC line: Thomas Scott (aka Tim Scott), Paul Andrews, Mike Long, Ellen Holmes, Merrie Najimy, Margret R. Cooke, and Monica Bharel.
We can do the 2 months searches like you suggested: May 1, 2020 - July 1, 2020; July 1 2020-September 1 2021; September 1 2020-November 1 2020; November 1 2020-December 1 2020; December 1-December 31 2020 we have no issues at all narrowing the search timeline scope to get these records fees waived reasonably given the great public interest and to make it so much easier for DESE thank you!]
Appeal
DESE claimed it was not able to find the records because the request did not provide “a reasonable description of the records”. The response explained that the request clearly described search keywords that can be used with any modern email system. In addition, other government entities with less resources than DESE had no problem quickly finding all requested records.
Objection from DESE
The Department cannot respond to your request because it does notprovide a reasonable description of the records you are requesting.According to regulations and guidance from the Supervisor of PublicRecords, Records Access Officers “must help the requester to determinethe precise record or records responsive to a request; however, arequester must provide a reasonable description of the requestedrecords.” A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, p.6, (Jan.2017); see also 950 CMR 32.06(1)(b). Your request does not clearlydescribe public records that Department staff can identify, review, andproduce in a timely fashion.
To proceed, I will need clarification of your request. The Department may use E-discovery software to compile these records. In order to use this software Department staff need the email extensions for the email communications with the organizations you are interested in. For example the email extension for DESE staff is @mass.gov. Please provide this information so that we can conduct a search.
Please contactme by responding to this message. Please be aware that statutory timeframes for recordproduction will not begin until you have provided a reasonabledescription of the records you are requesting. 950 CMR 32.06(1)(f).
Finally, if you wish to challenge any aspect of this response, you mayappeal to the Supervisor of Public Records following the procedure setforth in 950 C.M.R. 32.08, a copy of which is available at http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-source/cmr/. You may also file a civil action in accordance with M.G.L. c. 66, § 10A.
Response to objection
We believe that DESE does not need further clarification given other government entities are capable of searching for these parameters of just using "email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org", and I myself am also able to on a non government server, and others I just asked them to do so were able to on government and non government servers. In fact there was NO difference between pulling up all emails with the @ in front or the "email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org". I believe in addition that it is common knowledge to it being @ then the rest, however in the event it was different than an @, it was necessary again to simply state "email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org" as that was clarity in DESE retrieving all responsive records given DESE refuse to have any type of custodial system index for us to see within emails, to assist us.
Therefore, we believe this satisfies any delay by DESE to state any clarification was needed for our public records request , as your system can again search that original "email accounts ending in aft.org and/or nea.org and/or massteacher.org and/or masc.org and/or massupt.org and/or mahb.org and/or msno.org and/or mcaap.org" and all responsive emails to, from or ccd to the DESE staff persons can be quickly identified. Thank you for your time and continued assistance so we can access these DESE public records ASAP. Please let me know if any more clarifications are needed, although we do not expect that given the clear clarification when this public records request was made and knowledge of the capability of your IT department being similar to our cities and towns.