PowerSchool documents
| Tracking # |
2122-042 |
| Submitted | Oct. 19, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
1) All contracts, including statements of work, between the district and PowerSchool, Naviance, and/or Hoonuit.
2) All data privacy and data sharing agreements between the district and PowerSchool, Naviance, and/or Hoonuit. This should include agreements that apply to both personally identifiable data as well as de-identified or aggregate data.
3) Documentation of the predictive models built by PowerSchool/Hoonuit for the district as part of the Unified Insights product. This should include any documents—often called predictive model reports, data libraries, model performance reports, etc.—that describe the statistical and machine learning methods the model uses (e.g., logistical regression, gradient boosting, etc.), what data was used to train the district's predictive models, what data variables are incorporated in the models, how those variables are weighted, and how those models perform.
4) A data library (also known as a data dictionary) describing all data fields incorporated into the district's PowerSchool and/or Naviance systems. To clarify: I am not requesting the data itself, but rather a list of the types of data (e.g., student names, grade, attendance rate, etc.) that the district uploads to the software. An example of a PowerSchool data library can be found here: https://docs.powerschool.com/PSDD/powerschool-tables.
5) A list of all personality, strengths, social-emotional, career, and college readiness surveys that can currently be administered to students through the district's PowerSchool and/or Naviance software. In the event that a list of such surveys is not available, I will accept blank templates of the surveys instead.
6) All user manuals for PowerSchool, Naviance, and/or Hoonuit software provided by those companies to the district.
This request applies to the time period of Jan. 1, 2016 until the present.
Should you have any questions about any aspect of this request, please don't hesitate to ask.
I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest. In the event you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employ involved and an explanation justifying the employee hours required to fulfill the request.
Should you choose to reject this request or redact portions of it, I ask that you provide a detailed breakdown of the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each/any portion from public review.
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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Michigan Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 19, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Detroit Public Schools
Attached please find the Initial response letter related to the above referenced FOIA request.
Cash D. Caldwell
Executive Administrative Specialist - Legal Analyst/Assistant FOIA Coordinator
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Office of the General Counsel
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Suite 1002
Detroit, MI 48202
O (313) 873-3367
F (313) 873-4564
cash.caldwell@detroitk12.org<mailto:firstname.lastname@detroitk12.org>
detroitk12.org<http://detroitk12.org/> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/Detroitk12> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/Detroitk12> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/detroitk12/>
[https://dpscd.detroitk12.org/images/transgif.gif] [Detroit Public Schools Community District]
From: Detroit Public Schools
Attached please find the Second response letter related to the above referenced request.
Cash D. Caldwell
Executive Administrative Specialist - Legal Analyst/Assistant FOIA Coordinator
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Office of the General Counsel
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Suite 1002
Detroit, MI 48202
O (313) 873-3367
F (313) 873-4564
cash.caldwell@detroitk12.org<mailto:firstname.lastname@detroitk12.org>
detroitk12.org<http://detroitk12.org/> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/Detroitk12> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/Detroitk12> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/detroitk12/>
[https://dpscd.detroitk12.org/images/transgif.gif] [Detroit Public Schools Community District]
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Michigan Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 19, 2021. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 24, 2021. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2122-042.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Detroit Public Schools
Mr. Feathers,
I am sending this from my phone. I do apologize. The plan was to get you your documents by Tuesday, November 23rd, since the District's holiday closure was to start on the 24th. But on Sunday November 21st the district was shut down for Monday and Tuesday, schools and Central Office. I did not have my work computer to complete your request. I will try my best to get it done but more than likely it will be completed on Monday. Thank you for your patience.
Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
From: Detroit Public Schools
Mr. Feathers,
Everything is being reviewed and we will have a response to you as soon as we receive final approval.
Cash D. Caldwell
Executive Administrative Specialist - Legal Analyst/Assistant FOIA Coordinator
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Office of the General Counsel
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Suite 1002
Detroit, MI 48202
O (313) 873-3367
F (313) 873-4564
cash.caldwell@detroitk12.org<mailto:firstname.lastname@detroitk12.org>
detroitk12.org<http://detroitk12.org/> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/Detroitk12> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/Detroitk12> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/detroitk12/>
[https://dpscd.detroitk12.org/images/transgif.gif] [Detroit Public Schools Community District]
From: Detroit Public Schools
Attached please find the Third and final response letter along with the documents responsive to the above referenced request.
Cash D. Caldwell
Executive Administrative Specialist - Legal Analyst/Assistant FOIA Coordinator
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Office of the General Counsel
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Suite 1002
Detroit, MI 48202
O (313) 873-3367
F (313) 873-4564
cash.caldwell@detroitk12.org<mailto:firstname.lastname@detroitk12.org>
detroitk12.org<http://detroitk12.org/> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/Detroitk12> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/Detroitk12> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/detroitk12/>
[https://dpscd.detroitk12.org/images/transgif.gif] [Detroit Public Schools Community District]
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