Public Records Request for DESE data (Springfield Public Schools)

City of Springfield, MA

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Your record request #24-2866 has been submitted successfully.

Dear Public Records Requester:

The City of Springfield is in receipt of your public records request.

Your request will be forwarded to the appropriate department[s] and a response will be sent to you as soon as we have obtained and reviewed any document[s] that may be responsive to your request. Pursuant to M.G.L. ch. 66, § 10(b), the City has ten [10] business days to respond to your request.

Should you be aggrieved by this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Records at the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.00 and M.G.L. ch. 66, § 10A(a). A copy of your request letter or email should be included with your appeal and mailed to:

Supervisor of Records

One Ashburton Place, Room 1719

Boston, MA 02108

You also have the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the Superior Court under M.G.L. ch. 66, § 10A(a). You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below. An email will be sent to you once your request has been completed.

Thank you for using the City of Springfield's Public Record Request Portal.

Sincerely,

Justin P. Morin

Public Records Coordinator

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City of Springfield, MA

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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-2866:

Dear Requester,

The City of Springfield is in receipt of your public records request. You requested "To Whom It May Concern:

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

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 police department. Under the Criminal Justice Reform Act, school districts and law enforcement agencies must “specify the manner and division of responsibility for collecting and reporting the school-based arrests, citations and court referrals of students to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education” (DESE). DESE began collecting data on school-related arrests in the 2018-19 school year. In the 2019-20 school year, DESE has expanded that collection to include data on all referrals to law enforcement. DESE has defined these terms as follows, borrowing the same definitions used by the U.S. Department of Education since its 2009 Civil Rights Data Collection.

A school-related arrest “[r]efers to an arrest of a student for any activity conducted on school grounds, during off campus school activities (including while taking school transportation), or due to a referral by any school official. All school-related arrests are considered referrals to law enforcement.”

A referral to law enforcement “[i]s an action by which a student is reported to any law enforcement agency or official, including a school police unit, for an incident that occurs on school grounds, during school-related events, or while taking school transportation, regardless of whether official action is taken. Citations, tickets, court referrals, and school-related arrests are considered referrals to law enforcement.”

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

1. Any and all documents relating to or filed in connection with school-related arrest and each referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced). Specifically, we request such documents produced to include, but not limited to, the following columns:

a. Date of arrest or referral to law enforcement

b. Time of arrest or referral to law enforcement

c. Charge (or charges)

d. Whether the individual(s) was arrested or referred to law enforcement

e. Sex of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

f. Age of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

g. Race of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

h. Ethnicity of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

i. Disability status of the individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

j. Whether the individual arrested or referred to law enforcement is a student at the school.

k. Name of arresting officer, if applicable, and

l. Badge number of the arresting officer or the officer that referred the youth to law enforcement, as applicable.

2. If such a production of the documents in question 1 is not possible, please provide any reports, incident notes, status updates, or documents which were submitted to DESE as the result of a school based arrest or any such referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced), per the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection for that year. For each referral to law enforcement or arrest, please include the school, demographic, and incident information described in DESE’s School Safety and Discipline Report Data Handbook v. 20.0.

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). The purpose of this request is to determine whether your school district and police department are complying with their reporting obligations under the Criminal Justice Reform Act. “The public has an interest in knowing whether public servants are carrying out their duties in an efficient and law-abiding manner.”

Please provide public records to a requestor in an electronic format unless the record is not available in an electronic format. M. G. L.c 66, § 6A(d).

The Public Records Act requires that you comply with this request within ten (10) business days following receipt. If you believe that documents or data responsive to any request herein is not public record and thus not subject to disclosure, please set forth in writing the specific reasons for such assertion, including the specific exemption or exemptions that you believe apply. To the extent that you determine that records need to be redacted in order to be produced under any law protecting the privacy of named individuals, please do so rather than withholding them in their entirety.

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,

Rylee Meints

Research Assistant

Center for Public Interest, Advocacy, and Collaboration

meints.r@northeastern.edu

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,

Rylee Meints

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

The City requires additional information in order to respond to your request.

Please note that arrest reports involving juvenile delinquency are exempt from disclosure under M.G.L. ch. 4, §7(26)(a) (also known as “Exemption (a) – ‘The Statutory Exemption”) through M.G.L. ch. 119, section 60A. If you wish to modify your request, extracts can be provided for all arrests per categorized race with all personal information removed: (e.x. 2019 WHITE MALES-redacted.pdf - NextRequest - Modern FOIA &amp; Public Records Request Software). Please advise us whether or not this modification would suffice.

Please provide the information referenced above within five (5) business days from 10/21/2024. Otherwise, the City of Springfield will consider your request withdrawn.

You may provide a response to the City of Springfield by responding to this email. Upon receipt of your clarification, the City of Springfield will further review your public records request and a response will be sent to you as soon as we have obtained and reviewed any document[s] that may be responsive to your request.

Should you be aggrieved by this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records in the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.00 and M.G.L. ch. 66, § 10(b).

Please contact the Public Records Division by responding to this email or by phone at (413) 787-6085 with any questions. Please reference your Public Records Request number in all correspondence regarding this request.

Sincerely,

Public Records Division

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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Springfield, MA.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>

City of Springfield, MA

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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-2866:

Dear Rylee Meints:

This email is in response to your public records request to the City of Springfield. You requested: " To Whom It May Concern:

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

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 police department. Under the Criminal Justice Reform Act, school districts and law enforcement agencies must “specify the manner and division of responsibility for collecting and reporting the school-based arrests, citations and court referrals of students to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education” (DESE). DESE began collecting data on school-related arrests in the 2018-19 school year. In the 2019-20 school year, DESE has expanded that collection to include data on all referrals to law enforcement. DESE has defined these terms as follows, borrowing the same definitions used by the U.S. Department of Education since its 2009 Civil Rights Data Collection.

A school-related arrest “[r]efers to an arrest of a student for any activity conducted on school grounds, during off campus school activities (including while taking school transportation), or due to a referral by any school official. All school-related arrests are considered referrals to law enforcement.”

A referral to law enforcement “[i]s an action by which a student is reported to any law enforcement agency or official, including a school police unit, for an incident that occurs on school grounds, during school-related events, or while taking school transportation, regardless of whether official action is taken. Citations, tickets, court referrals, and school-related arrests are considered referrals to law enforcement.”

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

1. Any and all documents relating to or filed in connection with school-related arrest and each referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced). Specifically, we request such documents produced to include, but not limited to, the following columns:

a. Date of arrest or referral to law enforcement

b. Time of arrest or referral to law enforcement

c. Charge (or charges)

d. Whether the individual(s) was arrested or referred to law enforcement

e. Sex of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

f. Age of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

g. Race of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

h. Ethnicity of individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

i. Disability status of the individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement

j. Whether the individual arrested or referred to law enforcement is a student at the school.

k. Name of arresting officer, if applicable, and

l. Badge number of the arresting officer or the officer that referred the youth to law enforcement, as applicable.

2. If such a production of the documents in question 1 is not possible, please provide any reports, incident notes, status updates, or documents which were submitted to DESE as the result of a school based arrest or any such referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school year (up until the day the records are produced), per the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection for that year. For each referral to law enforcement or arrest, please include the school, demographic, and incident information described in DESE’s School Safety and Discipline Report Data Handbook v. 20.0.

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). The purpose of this request is to determine whether your school district and police department are complying with their reporting obligations under the Criminal Justice Reform Act. “The public has an interest in knowing whether public servants are carrying out their duties in an efficient and law-abiding manner.”

Please provide public records to a requestor in an electronic format unless the record is not available in an electronic format. M. G. L.c 66, § 6A(d).

The Public Records Act requires that you comply with this request within ten (10) business days following receipt. If you believe that documents or data responsive to any request herein is not public record and thus not subject to disclosure, please set forth in writing the specific reasons for such assertion, including the specific exemption or exemptions that you believe apply. To the extent that you determine that records need to be redacted in order to be produced under any law protecting the privacy of named individuals, please do so rather than withholding them in their entirety.

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,

Rylee Meints

Research Assistant

Center for Public Interest, Advocacy, and Collaboration

meints.r@northeastern.edu

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,

Rylee Meints

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

Personnel at the Police Department have submitted records in response to your request. Please log in to the Public Records Center using the following link to retrieve the responsive documents: City of Springfield Public Records Portal.

Please be advised that redactions have been made pursuant to M.G.L. ch. 4, § 7(26)(c) (also known as “Exemption (c)’ – ‘The Privacy Exemption”), M.G.L. ch. 4, § 7(26)(a) (also known as “Exemption (a)’ – ‘The Statutory Exemption”) under M.G.L. ch. 41, § 97D and M.G.L. ch. 119, § 60A.

Exemption (c) allows for the withholding of personnel files, medical files, and other information and materials whose disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; except records related to a law enforcement misconduct investigation. See M.G. L. ch. 4, § 7(26)(c). All information that could identify a victim or minor and sensitive data related to specifically named individuals have been redacted for privacy including names, residential addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, court docket numbers, and warrant numbers. Furthermore, all records of domestic violence and/or abuse of a household or family member have been redacted in their entirety.

Exemption (a) prohibits the release of materials that are “specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute.” The applicable statute that the City is required to withhold certain records under exemption (a) is M.G.L. ch. 41, § 97D which states that "all reports of rape and sexual assault or attempts to commit such offenses, all reports of abuse perpetrated by family or household members, as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A, and all communications between police officers and victims of such offenses or abuse shall not be public reports." All reports involving domestic violence, or abuse of a household or family member have been redacted. Therefore all information related to arrests that occurred for domestic violence or abuse of a household or family member has been redacted.

Furthermore, M.G.L. ch. 119, § 60A states that “delinquency records shall be withheld from public inspection except with the consent of a justice of such court; provided, however, that such records shall be open, at all reasonable times, to inspection by the child proceeded against, his parents, guardian or attorney; provided further, that nothing herein shall be construed to provide access to privileged or confidential communications and information; and provided further, that said protections shall be construed to include information and communications entered at the indictment.” Therefore, all information that identifies a juvenile has been redacted including names, residential addresses, docket numbers, and warrant numbers.

Please note that M.G.L. ch. 119, § 60A allows for the juvenile, the juvenile's guardian, and the juvenile's attorney to access redacted records. These individuals can request their records from the Police Department Clerk’s Office in person with a copy of their government-issued photo identification and proof of representation (if applicable) at Springfield Police Department's Clerk's Office, located at 130 Pearl Street in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Should you be aggrieved by this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records in the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.00 and M.G.L. ch. 66, § 10(b).

Please contact the Public Records Division by responding to this email or by phone at (413) 787-6085 with any questions. Please reference your Public Records Request number in all correspondence regarding this request.

Sincerely,

Public Records Division

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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Springfield, MA.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>

City of Springfield, MA

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Documents have been released to you for record request #24-2866:

* 2018 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2018 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN MALES.pdf

* 2018 ASIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2018 ASIAN MALES.pdf

* 2018 NATIVE HAWAIIAN MALES.pdf

* 2018 NATIVE HAWAIIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2018 UNKNOWN MALES.pdf

* 2019 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2019 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN MALES.pdf

* 2019 ASIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2019 ASIAN MALES.pdf

* 2019 NATIVE HAWAIIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2019 NATIVE HAWAIIAN MALES.pdf

* 2019 UNKNOWN FEMALES.pdf

* 2020 ASIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2020 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN MALES.pdf

* 2020 ASIAN MALES.pdf

* 2020 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2020 UNKNOWN FEMALES.pdf

* 2020 NATIVE HAWAIIAN MALES.pdf

* 2020 NATIVE HAWAIIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2020 UNKNOWN MALES.pdf

* 2021 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2021 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN MALES.pdf

* 2021 ASIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2021 ASIAN MALES.pdf

* 2021 NATIVE HAWAIIAN FEMALES.pdf

* 2021 NATIVE HAWAIIAN MALES.pdf

* 2021 UNKNOWN FEMALES.pdf

* 2021 UNKNOWN MALES.pdf

* 2022 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALES.PDF

* 2022 ALASKAN - NATIVE AMERICAN MALES.PDF

* 2022 ASIAN MALES.PDF

* 2022 ASIAN FEMALES.PDF

* 2022 NATIVE HAWAIIAN FEMALES.PDF

* 2022 NATIVE HAWAIIAN MALES.PDF

* 2022 UNKNOWN FEMALES.PDF

* 2022 UNKNOWN MALES.PDF

* 2018_BLACK_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2018_UNKNOWN_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2018_WHITE_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2018_WHITE_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2019_BLACK_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2019_BLACK_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2019_UNKNOWN_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2019_WHITE_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2020_BLACK_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2019_WHITE_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2020_WHITE_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2020_WHITE_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2021_BLACK_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2021_WHITE_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2021_WHITE_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2022_BLACK_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2022_BLACK_MALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2022_WHITE_FEMALES_Redacted.pdf

* 2022_WHITE_MALES_Redacted.pdf

Document links are valid for one month.
After December 1, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).

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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Springfield, MA.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>

City of Springfield, MA

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Record request #24-2866 has been closed.

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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Springfield, MA.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>