Alabama School Communicators Association

Freedom of Information Act and

External Data Requests Presented by Susan Crowther, J.D.

Alabama Department of Education

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Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)

Found at 5 U.S.C. § 552 (2010) &

28 CFR § 16.1, et seq.

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FOIA requires federal agencies to make available to the public rules, opinions, orders, records and

proceedings. More information regarding FOIA and how to submit a request can be found at

www.foia.gov. Note that most agencies have a lot of information already available on the agency’s

website. The request must be submitted in writing with enough specificity to determine what

information is being sought. Following is the link which provides addresses for FOIA requests to

different departments: http://www.foia.gov/report-makerequest.html

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There are restrictions on information that may be obtained. For example, information pertaining to national security or that is privileged may not be

disclosed. Information protected by FERPA is likewise protected subject to certain exceptions.

Also note the following from foia.gov: “You should be aware that the FOIA does not require agencies to

do research for you, analyze data, answer written questions, or create records in response to your

request. ”

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Definitions

(courtesy of foia.gov)

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FOIA: “The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law in 1966. The FOIA provides

individuals with a statutory right of access to certain federal agency records. The FOIA requires agencies

to disclose requested records unless they are protected from public disclosure by the FOIA.

Congress included in the FOIA nine exemptions and three law enforcement exclusions

to protect important interests such as national security, personal privacy, privileged

communications, and law enforcement.”

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FOIA Request: “A request submitted to a federal agency asking for access to agency records on any

topic. A FOIA request can generally be made by any person, to any federal agency, and only requires that requesters reasonably describe the records they are

seeking and comply with agency regulations for making such requests.”

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FOIA.gov: “The flagship initiative of the Department of Justice’s Open Government Plan, FOIA.Gov is a government-wide FOIA resource. On this website

the public will have access to all the FOIA data collected by the Department of Justice and will be

able to view the data graphically and generate reports. Additionally, the website contains

information to educate the public about how the FOIA works, spotlights significant FOIA releases and

explains how to make FOIA requests to federal agencies.”

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NOTE: FOIA applies to the Federal government. States are governed by their open records act (e.g., Alabama

Open Records Act) and other regulations.

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Alabama Records Requests

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In Alabama, copies of records may be obtained by submitting a request

pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act. For the State Department of

Education, a lot of records can be found on our website. The procedures for

submitting an open records request can be found on the department’s website.

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The following applies to SDE open records requests:

Requests made under the Open Records Act, Ala. Code § 36-12-40 and § 36-12-41, must be submitted

in writing to the Office of General Counsel, at the Alabama Department of Education, 50 N. Ripley

Street, Room 5103, P. O. Box 302101, Montgomery, AL 36130. The request must be signed by the individual requesting the records and set out

sufficient information to determine which records are being requested.

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The following applies to SDE open records requests:

The charge for records copying is $1.00 per page for the first 25 pages and $.50 per page thereafter, a

search fee of $5.00 per request, plus the cost of any postage if the records are to be mailed. An

additional $5.00 charge will be assessed for certified copies of records. The charge for a complete copy of the State Board of Education Administrative Rules is

$50.00. Additional charges may apply for fragile records. For inspection of records, the inspection

must occur during normal business hours.

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SDE External Data Request Policy

Administered by the SDE External Data Request Committee

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Information requests are governed by the Department’s External Data Request policy. This

policy applies to requests made outside the Department and not for official business. For

example, a U.S. Department of Education’s request for information would not fall under this policy but a

reporter seeking data would.

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The reason for developing this policy is that previously there was no monitoring

of information disseminated from the department nor any recouping of costs.

Most importantly, there was no approval process for any of this information being

released.

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And there was a lot of information being released…

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Information Composite

And data…

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Data Composite

Another view…

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In order to establish controls for the information being released and

allow for the recouping of the costs of the production of this

information, an External Data Request policy was developed. The

policy was approved by the Department’s Steering Committee and an EDR committee established.

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The chairman of the External Data Request Committee is Dr. Michael Sibley.

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The Department’s policy regarding External Data Requests can be found on

the SDE’s website: http://www.alsde.edu/datarequest/

default.aspx

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A signed request must be submitted in writing to Dr. Sibley. It must be specific enough to ascertain what information is being sought. The request may be hand-

delivered, mailed, faxed ((334) 353-4682) or emailed

(datarequest@alsde.edu).

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Dr. Sibley, and if needed his committee, will then evaluate the request to determine the

availability of the data requested and the cost to fulfill the request. Requests requiring unreasonable time or use of other State

resources may be denied. Additionally, if a request is inappropriate or unable to be filled

due to legal concerns, the request will be denied.

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A complete description of the charges is available on SDE’s website. Briefly, a per page charge of $1.00 for the first 25 pages and then 50 cents thereafter

applies. There is also a data extraction charge currently set at $150.00 per hour. Extra fees may

apply if the request takes longer than estimated. All charges must be paid prior to fulfilling of the data

request. An additional charge of $1.00 will be assessed for reports that are burned to a CD or DVD

or a report may be burned in lieu of the per page charge. SDE accepts checks and money orders.

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Request for Information

Received

If $ received, assemble and

provide copies of records

If $ not received, request disregarded

Director of Communication

Reviews Request

Request Denied

Prioritize request & calculate cost to

fulfill request

Is request overly

burden- some?*

Advise requestor of cost

Review Process for External Data Requests

Yes

No

*i.e., will the request overly burden the resources of the Department in terms of costs to both physical and human resources; is the request for a purpose that is not in the best interest of the State or the Department?

By implementing this policy, the Department has saved time and money. A wealth of information is already available on the Department’s website and most requests are to consolidate information that

could otherwise be prepared by the requestor. This policy allows the Department to recoup the

expenses involved in preparing these reports and frees the Department to prioritize requests so that data requests related to official business are given

priority over requests from the general public.

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Questions?

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