Bark alert terms, contracts, and materials

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Materials related to this agency's use of Bark (www.bark.us) and associated products designed for monitoring student devices and content, including all lists and documents sufficient to show banned, blacklisted, or restricted websites, terms, and other online content. Materials responsive to this request are those created from the period January 1, 2020 through the date this request is processed.
Responsive materials include, but are not limited to, the following materials:

ALERT GENERATORS and COMMUNICATIONS
• A list of terms, URLs, websites, and other keywords currently blacklisted, blocked or restricted, as well as any others set to generate alerts from the Bark system. This includes but is not limited to those parameters designed to generate alerts for Gmail, Google Chat, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Chrome, Office 365, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and Word Docs. This includes all applied filters and blocked URLs.
• All policies and procedures associated with receiving alerts and sending alerts to student guardians and parents
• A copy of all alerts generated by the Bark system for the period from January 1, 2020 through the date this request is processed.
• All summaries or other statistical reports regarding attempted access to blacklisted/blocked websites or flagged search terms from January 1, 2020 through the date this request is processed. This includes any reports that show the number of Bark-generated alerts created during each month or week, if available.
• A list of terms, URLs, websites, and other keywords manually whitelisted or identified for student access within the Bark system
• A copy of all communications between Bark and your school and/or school district. This includes any and all communications sent or received from the “@bark.us” domain.
• A copy of all communications between any representative of this school and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
• A copy of all notifications sent to law enforcement as a result and/or as a part of the the Bark platform, as well as all communications with law enforcement regarding matters related to a Bark-generated alert
• All incident reports, after action reports, or police reports based on incidents that involved Bark alerts from January 1, 2020 through the date this request is processed. Please redact any identifying information.
• A copy of all complaints made by parents and/or students about the Bark platform

CONTRACT AND AGREEMENTS
• All contracts, memorandums of understanding, and any other written agreements between this agency and Bark, including all associated amendments, exhibits, guiding material, and supplemental and supporting documentation.

FINANCIAL MATERIALS
• All financial documents or records of financial transactions, exchanges or obligations related to the relationship between the aforementioned entities. Responsive materials include all invoices, bills, receipts, check stubs, or any other records, including those possessed in an electronic format.
This also includes any Requests for Proposal and bidding materials provided by Bark and any other entities responding to the same Request for Proposal or equivalent procurement request.

MARKETING and PROMOTION MATERIALS
• All promotional, descriptive, and marketing materials in this possession of this agency related to and/or referencing “Bark” and any of its products and services. This includes all presentations, marketing materials, technical documentation, proposals, or similar records shared with this agency and/or any representative thereof by Bark and/or any representative thereof.

GUIDING DOCUMENTATION and POLICIES
• All policies, memorandums of understanding, and other guidance materials generated by this agency and/or entity operating on its behalf regarding the acquisition and use of any data or services provided by Bark or any subdivision thereof. Responsive materials include, but are not limited to, any data-sharing agreements, terms of use, licensing agreements, and any other guiding materials, such as user manuals, other guidance materials, help documents, or related materials.
• A copy of any associate training materials, including those related to sensitivity training and diverse students. This includes any presentations, PowerPoint or other slides,
• The technology use policy for this school

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be processed by researchers. This request is being made in the process of information gathering and not for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would waive any associated costs, as this request is being made in the public interest. I ask that you please inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. 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.

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,

Beryl Lipton