Public Records Request for Data on 51A Reports

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

To whom it may concern:

This letter constitutes a request pursuant to the Public Records Act, M.G.L. c. 66, §10, for public records in the custody of your organization. The Center for Public Interest Advocacy and Collaboration is an educational, research and advocacy organization at Northeastern University School of Law. We produce publicly available interdisciplinary research and data analysis on important social issues.

We request the following public records, as defined in M.G.L. c. 4, § 7 (twenty-sixth):

1. Cross tabulated counts of 51A reports filed against children, ages 3-18 in school years 2018-
2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, broken down by
a. School
b. Category of reporter (mandated or non-mandated)
c. Age of the child
d. Race of the child
e. Ethnicity of the child
f. Sexual orientation and gender identity of the child
g. Disability status of the child
h. Type of abuse or neglect alleged
2. Intersectional counts of 51A reports filed against parents in school years 2018-2019, 2019-
2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, broken down by
a. School of the child
b. Race of the parent
c. Ethnicity of the parent
d. Type of abuse or neglect alleged

As this request involves a matter of public interest and will not be used for any commercial purpose, we ask that all fees associated with this request be waived pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(k). If you have any questions about this request or need additional time to respond, please contact me. Thank you in advance for your prompt response to this request.

Sincerely,

Makayla Connor
Research Assistant
Center for Public Interest, Advocacy, and Collaboration
Northeastern University School of Law
connor.mak@northeastern.edu
(508) 340-1740

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not made for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Makayla Connor