Accessing School Title IX Report
Q: Someone filed a complaint in 2007 alleging that the School District in has failed to comply with Title IX of the Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1972. Then OCR, the agency responsible for compliance with Title IX within the US Department of Education contacted the district and the district filed what the newspaper called a “report housed in a binder five inches thick” After I asked the reporter if she had a copy of the report, and she didn’t, I asked the superintendent for a copy of that report housed in a binder five inches thick folder using the district’s on-line “Contact Us” form. I received no reply so I sent a first class letter, asking for the “five inch Title IX Report mentioned in the newspaper.” I cited the California Public Records Act, 6250-6276.48 in the letter. I have not heard from the district in response to either the e-mailed contact form or the first class letter. I wonder what I should try next?
A: As you may know, under the California Public Records Act (“PRA”), Govt. Code section 6250 et seq., records in the possession of state or local public agencies are presumed to be public unless an exemption to disclosure applies. With respect to any PRA requests, your request can either be made orally or in writing. If it is in writing and the agency decides that it is going to decline your request, they are required to respond in writing (within 10 days) and specify the exemptions to disclosure on which they are relying. In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in this section may be extended by written notice by the head of the agency or his or her designee to the person making the request, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than 14 days.” Gov’t code § 6253.
In your case, it looks as though the district has ignored both of your requests for records. Sometimes it can be useful to try to identify the government legal counsel for the particular agency (often the city attorney or county counsel) and let that office know that your requests have been ignored.
If you believe that the city has withheld the records improperly, you also have the option of filing a lawsuit under the PRA. The PRA provides that prevailing parties in a PRA litigation be awarded their attorneys’ fees. Govt. Code § 6259(d) (“The court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff should the plaintiff prevail in litigation filed pursuant to this section. The costs and fees shall be paid by the public agency of which the public official is a member or employee and shall not become a personal liability of the public official. If the court finds that the plaintiff’s case is clearly frivolous, it shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the public agency.”). You might want to highlight this fact as well in your next communication with the city.
Finally, if you would like to try one more time to request these records, here is a sample PRA request letter: http://www.cfac.org/templates/cpraletter.html. If you choose to prepare another request, be sure to include the dates of your previous requests, and you may even want to attach these to your letter. Next, be sure to remind the district of its obligation to respond within 10 days, and of the fact that it has already violated the PRA by not responding within the time limit. Last, you may want to tell the district of your intention to initiate litigation and seek attorney’s fees if they continue to ignore your request.