PR BASICS - Freedom of Information Act and Alabama Department of Education External Data Request
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Transcript of PR BASICS - Freedom of Information Act and Alabama Department of Education External Data Request
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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Imp
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Information Composite
And data…
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Imp
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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
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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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