Public Records Request for Data on 51A Reports (Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion School)

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 2022-2023, 2023-2024 broken down by
a. Category of reporter (mandated or non-mandated)
b. Age of the child
c. Race of the child
d. Ethnicity of the child
e. Sexual orientation and gender identity of the child
f. Disability status of the child
g. 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. Race of the parent
b. Ethnicity of the parent
c. Type of abuse or neglect alleged
3. The standard operating procedures of the Office of Equity at Henderson and its role in creating and maintaining procedures for mandatory reporting and filing of 51As since its inception

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,

Norrie Osgood
Research Assistant
Center for Public Interest, Advocacy, and Collaboration
Northeastern University School of Law
osgood.n@northeastern.edu
(603) 848-2018