FOIA request - CPS COVID dashboard (Chicago Public Schools)

Dear Sally:

Thank you for your interest in Chicago Public Schools. Your FOIA request has been received and is being processed. Your FOIA Center reference number for tracking purposes is: N011579-081722
You have requested the following records: To whom it may concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, I hereby request the following:

Any and all records from March 2020 through July 2022 pertaining to Chicago Public School's district-wide COVID-19 dashboard, data collection methods, reporting and analysis methods and guidelines, and any documentation or communications–including policies, procedures, reports, presentations, or email exchanges–concerning the district's monitoring and tracking of COVID-19 cases among school staff, personnel, and students.

The requested documents will be made availale to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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 five business days, as required by Act 5 ILCS 140(3).

Sincerely,

Sally Seeley

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

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) responds to all public records requests in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.
If further time is needed to assemble and copy all documents responsive to your FOIA request, we will contact you with a time estimate and a request to extend.
Upon the completion of a response, CPS will provide the first 50 pages to you at no charge.  If a response is more than 50 pages, a fee of 15¢ per page will be charged for each additional page. Copies of video recordings have a fee of $48. All applicable fees must be paid prior to the copying. CPS will inform you of any fees due if your paper response exceeds 50 pages. You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you’ll receive an email when your request has been completed. Thank you for using the CPS FOIA Center.

--- Please respond above this line ---

08/18/2022

Sally Seeley
MuckRock News, DEPT MR132618 263 Huntington Ave
Boston MA 02115

Dear Sally:

RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N011579-081722
Thank you again for using the Chicago Public Schools FOIA Center.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, a public body may extend the time to respond to a FOIA request by up to 5 business days for a limited number of reasons. 5 ILCS 140/3(e).
We are extending the time to respond to your request by 5 business days for one or more of the following reason(s):
(  ) the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
( )  the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;
( ) the request is couched in categorical terms and requires an extensive search for the records responsive to it;
( ) the requested records have not been located in the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
(  ) the requested records require examination and evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;
(x) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by 5 ILCS 140/3 (c) without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;
( ) there is need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request
Sincerely,

Annie Righi
FOIA Officer
Chicago Public Schools

--- Please respond above this line ---
August 31, 2022 Sally Seeley requests@muckrock.com RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N011579-081722
Dear Ms. Seeley: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information: Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, I hereby request the following: Any and all records from March 2020 through July 2022 pertaining to Chicago Public School's district-wide COVID-19 dashboard, data collection methods, reporting and analysis methods and guidelines, and any documentation or communications–including policies, procedures, reports, presentations, or email exchanges–concerning the district's monitoring and tracking of COVID-19 cases among school staff, personnel, and students. RESPONSE : The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) FOIA Office has reviewed your request and determined that, as currently written, it is overly broad and burdensome in failing to cite a specific record for review and instead seeking general “documentation” regarding a subject matter, and it is categorical in nature, as seeking “any and all records” can be reasonably considered to span every conceivable record about the referenced subject matter. Furthermore, it is onerous to conduct an email search given the parameters set forth in your request. The CPS email search engine has the following requirements for a search: (1) the employee name or the email address of the account you wish searched; (2) key words you wish to search for; (3) the email address of each individual’s mailbox, if you seek email correspondence to and from two individuals; and (4) the time frame to be searched. Your request is missing items (1), (2), and (3). Accordingly, responding to this request as a whole, and certain individual items, would require the search and/or collection of broad categories of records and unduly burden the operations of the CPS. However, some of what you seek regarding data collection, reporting, and analysis is available on the CPS website at the following link: https://www.cps.edu/services-and-supports/covid-19-resources/ Specifically, you may wish to refer to information headings “How We Report COVID Cases at the District Level”, “How We Report COVID Cases at the School Level” and “Information About Reporting and Terminology” at the following link: https://www.cps.edu/services-and-supports/covid-19-resources/covid-19-readiness-data/covid-19-readiness-data-2021/ If that is not the information you seek then pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3(g), we are asking that you narrow your request, in writing, to more manageable proportions. To do so, you may reply to this email. If you do not modify or revise your request to more manageable proportions within five (5) business days, your request will be considered denied. To the extent you consider this a denial, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a) you may file a Request for Review with the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at: Public Access Counselor; Office of the Attorney General; 500 South 2nd Street; Springfield, IL 62706.  You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court; 5 ILCS 140/11. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500. Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Annie Righi Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools