DESE waiver request
| Submitted | Feb. 6, 2014 |
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Communications
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:
A copy of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s waiver request to obtain flexibility so that it can avoid double testing of students (both the MCAS and the PARCC tests).
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, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not 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 fees cannot be waived, 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,
Shawn Musgrave
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 6, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: Varon, Joshua (DOE)
Mr. Musgrave:
On February 6, 2014, you requested, "A copy of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's waiver request to obtain flexibility so that it can avoid double testing of students (both the MCAS and the PARCC tests)."
Attached are the records that respond to your request, as well as the letter from the US DESE received recently, that approves the Department's waiver request. No content has been redacted from these records.
I hope you find this helpful. Please be advised that if you wish to challenge this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records following the procedure contained in 950 CMR 32.08.
Josh Varon
Legal Counsel
MA Dept. of Elem. and Sec. Ed
781-338-3400
jvaron@doe.mass.edu<mailto:jvaron@doe.mass.edu>
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hello,
Thank you for your response. For some reason I'm unable to open this PDF without special software. Can you please resend in a basic PDF file, unless there is particular formatting that requires Adobe Acrobat Pro?
Best,
Shawn
From: Varon, Joshua (DOE)
Shawn,
I sent the previous version as a .pdf Portfolio -- it's an organized way of sending several .pdf files related to the same subject. Opening a .pdf Portfolio requires an up-to-date version of Acrobat Reader and Flash Player.
This should do the trick. See attached.
- Josh
From: Shawn Musgrave
Thank you!
-Shawn
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