Business Insider Delaware FOIA request - August 16, 2022

Jonathan Rudenberg filed this request on behalf of Insider Staff with the Indian River School District of Delaware.
Status
Rejected

Communications

From: Insider Staff

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Delaware Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

-All separation agreements and settlements reached with current and former teachers who taught in the district between January 1, 2017 through the day this request is fulfilled.

-All public records relating to any and all claims of misconduct against current and former teachers who taught in the district between January 1, 2017 through the day this request is fulfilled. Such public records should include, but not be limited to, all complaints; allegations; claims; investigatory reports; analyses; summaries; memoranda and/or notes; interview recordings; transcripts and/or notes; reviews; emails, text or other electronic messages, voicemails, and/or other communications and/or correspondence; determinations; decisions; orders; resignation letters; employment reclassification documents; offers in compromise and/or settlement agreements; termination and/or transfer papers; letters of reproval and/or other disciplinary actions, whether imposed or not; referrals to law enforcement, administrative, and/or licensing agencies, departments, and/or bodies; appeals; court filings and/or rulings; and all similar materials notwithstanding the use of other terminology, nomenclature, or categorization by this or other involved public agencies.

To further clarify this request, the scope of the misconduct at issue arises from, relates to, and/or is a consequence of sexual behavior and/or activities with district students, whether currently or previously enrolled, and notwithstanding whether any such behavior and/or activities were proven to have occurred or not. The construction of this request should be understood to be liberal and expansive, such that all public records which may be remotely responsive should be produced in full and may only be withheld and/or redacted only as required by law.

I would like these records in the electronic format that they are stored in, transmitted via email or other digital method; please refrain from sending paper copies of the records.

Rather than provide all responsive records at once, I ask that you provide copies of records on a rolling basis, as they become available.

If you determine that any of the information qualifies for an exemption from disclosure, I ask you to note whether the exemption is discretionary, and if so whether it is necessary in this case to exercise your discretion to withhold the information. In any event, please provide a signed notification citing the legal authorities on which you rely if you determine that any of the information is exempt and will not be disclosed.

The requested documents will be made available 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 15 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Rudenberg, a citizen of Delaware, in coordination with Insider Staff.

From: Indian River School District

The Indian River School District has received your FOIA request of August 17, 2022. Your request will be forwarded to the appropriate district department(s) to locate the public records you seek and determine any costs associated with satisfying your request. The district will respond within 15 business days regarding the availability of records. If necessary, the district will provide a cost estimate (if applicable) and request confirmation to proceed (if necessary).

David Maull
Indian River School District
(302) 436-1000, Ext. 101142
david.maull@irsd.k12.de.us<mailto:david.maull@irsd.k12.de.us>

From: Indian River School District

Dear Sir or Madam,

We received a request under Delaware's Freedom of Information Act on August 17, 2022 from this email account and purporting to be from "Jonathan Rudenberg, a citizen of Delaware, in coordination with Insider Staff." It was sent via the fax machine at the Indian River School District office. It purports to have been transmitted via a means called "MuckRock" but was not sent by a MuckRock staff member. It provides an opportunity to mail information to MuckRock in Massachusetts.

The FOIA request is likely either SPAM or an attempt at fraud. As such, it is disregarded. Alternatively, the FOIA request is submitted by someone purporting to be a Delaware citizen residing in Massachusetts. Only citizens of the State of Delaware enjoy the rights afforded under Delaware's FOIA statute, pursuant to Attorney General Opinion No. 19-IB66. The requesting party apparently resides in Massachusetts. Consequently, the FOIA request- if not SPAM or an attempt at fraud - is denied as the requesting party is not a Delaware citizen. Finally the request, if by a citizen, would be objectionable on grounds that it largely requests documents exempt from the definition of a "public record" as defined in FOIA. In the event a response was due, fees would be owed before responsive documents were to be provided pursuant to Title 29, Chapter 100 and our FOIA policy. We consider this matter closed.
David Maull
Indian River School District
(302) 436-1000, Ext. 101142
david.maull@irsd.k12.de.us<mailto:david.maull@irsd.k12.de.us>

Files

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