George P. Bush - his Rice University college transcript via his FL public school employment

Miami-Dade County Public School District
1450 NE 2nd Ave.
Miami, FL 33132
Phone: (305) 995-1000
http://www.dadeschools.net/

Re: George P. Bush, former employee

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to Florida's Sunshine Law (Fla. Stat. secs. 119.01 to 119.15 (1995)), I hereby request the following records:

Seeking a certified copy of the complete job application materials in the personnel file of a former employee of Homestead High School, a history teacher who worked in the school year 1999, and who is now an elected official in Texas, George P. Bush.

Note that personnel file contents and job application materials are public records under FL Sunshine Public Records Law. See the following My Florida Sunshine Law Manual:
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http://www.myflsunshine.com/sun.nsf/manual/5a60474cbfb8dbf4852566f30068571f

6. Personnel records

a. Personnel records open to inspection unless exempted by law

The general rule with regard to personnel records is the same as for other public records; unless the Legislature has expressly exempted an agency's personnel records from disclosure or authorized the agency to adopt rules limiting access to such records, personnel records are subject to public inspection and copying under s. 119.07(1), F.S. Michel v. Douglas, 464 So. 2d 545 (Fla. 1985). And see Alterra Healthcare Corporation v. Estate of Shelley, 827 So. 2d 936, 940n.4 (Fla. 2002) ("only the custodian of such records can assert any applicable exemption; not the employee").

In accordance with this principle, the following are some of the personnel records which have been determined to be subject to disclosure:

Applications for employment--AGOs 77-48 and 71-394;

Communications from third parties--Douglas v. Michel, 410 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982), questions answered and approved, 464 So. 2d 545 (Fla. 1985);

Grievance records--Mills v. Doyle, 407 So. 2d 348 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981);

Resumes--Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid and Associates, Inc., 379 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 1980);

Salary information--Lewis v. Schreiber, No. 92-8005(03) (Fla. 17th Cir. Ct. June 12, 1992), per curiam affirmed, 611 So. 2d 531 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); AGO 73-30;

Travel vouchers--Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid and Associates, Inc., supra; Lewis v. Schreiber, supra.

Accordingly, an agency should assume that all information in a personnel file is subject to inspection unless a specific statutory exemption exists which would permit withholding a particular document from disclosure....
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The public records I am seeking are any and all materials required to be submitted by George P. Bush to Miami-Dade Public Schools prior to the district employing him as a teacher in the public schools, which I believe would include but is not limited to the following -- and again I am seeking a certified copy of each of these documents from the file:

1) A signed job application
2) A resume
3) An official college transcript (his undergraduate transcript from Rice University)
4) Written recommendation letters

In addition, I am seeking a certified copy of the following documents from his personnel file, if such documents exist:

5) Background clearance letter approving him for employment
6) Any application by him for Florida teacher certification
7) Any temporary license he was issued by the Florida Dept of Education to teach high school history

If these above documents do not exist, please state such in a letter on letterhead and certify the letter.

Again, please note: I am only interested in certified copies.

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 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 would request your response within ten (10) business days.

Sincerely,

Susan Alyn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 13, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

Dear John Schuster, Administrative Director, Office of Communications, Miami Dade Public Schools:

Thank you for your email. I have reviewed the document you sent regarding the cost. I think there is an error, as explained below:

1) I requested CERTIFIED copies of all pages, but I am not seeing any cost for CERTIFYING each page -- instead I am seeing a "15 cents" copying
fee per page.

2) I am unclear why $28 was charged for 1 labor hour -- is this a charge for copying the "13 pages" of this file?

Again, I see no mention of a cost for certification of each page. Could you revise the Cost Estimate to clearly show I have requested, and I am
paying for, a certified copy of each page?

If this makes the cost go up, then please revise before I pay anything. Thank you.

PS As soon as you send a revised Cost Estimate, including the phrase "certified copy of each page" or words to that effect, then, I will submit a payment to you. Thank you again.

Susan Alyn

Dear Mr. Martin:

Thank you for your email, however, I do not see any "revised" cost estimate in the two email attachments you sent.

You sent my original request and the original cost estimate.

What I am seeking is a revised cost estimate, with the word "certified" somewhere in the cost estimate, to show I
requested and expect each of the 13 pages to be certified.

Do you have a "revised" cost estimate to email -- which includes the word "certified" copy (as that is what I requested)?

Sincerely,
Susan Alyn

PS I have sent an email to the superintendent asking him to help with this request, as I have now received two incorrect cost estimates, neither of which mentions certifying anything -- despite the fact I would like a certified copy of each page.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Susan Alyn <susan.alyn@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 9:02 AM
Subject: Seeking your help with public records request not being done correctly by your school district
To: Superintendent'sOffice@dadeschools.net

Dear Superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools, Alberto M. Carvalho:

I have patiently tried to obtain certified copies of a public record, but I am not having
much success with your school district.

Consequently, would you kindly assist me in this matter and speak with Rolando A. Martín, Director Community Development and Public Outreach, Public Information (305) 995-1128 and/or John Schuster
Administrative Director, Office of Communications?

Briefly, I requested "certified" copies. I have twice now received a cost estimate that fails to
include the cost of certifying anything ($1.00 per page).

In addition I am being charged a $28.00 fee for "labor" : "Staff has advised my office that the $28 dollar fee is the hour of labor that it takes to pull the documents and prepare them for release." However:

I don't think it takes one hour to pull a personnel file and photocopy a file of allegedly 13 pages. I would think it takes under 15 minutes and there should be no charge for labor as per your district rules, since there is no extensive use of technology here and no great volume of records:

http://www.neola.com/miamidade-fl/

Duplicated copies or certified copies of the District's public records shall be provided upon payment of the fee provided in Florida law. If the nature or volume of the public records requested to be copied or inspected will require extensive use of information technology resources or more than fifteen (15) minutes of clerical or supervisory assistance by District personnel, a special service charge attributable to the extensive use of the information technology resources and/or the labor cost of the personnel providing the service will be collected as permitted by State law.

And again -- the cost of certifying each page has yet to appear on a cost estimate. I have so far received two
cost estimates, neither one of which is mentioning certified copies, despite the $1 certification per page cost clearly being stated on your district's web site:

http://www.neola.com/miamidade-fl/

Pursuant to F.S. 119.07(4), charges for copies are as follows:
A. Up to $0.15 per one (1) one-sided copy for duplicated copies of not more than 14 inches by 8 ½ inches;
B. No more than an additional $0.05 for each two-sided copy; and
C. For all other copies, the actual cost of duplication of the public record.
D. A charge of $1.00 per copy for a certified copy of a public record, if certification is possible.
------

Attached is the incorrect cost form I have now received twice, omitting the cost for certifying.

I realize you are busy, but could you help me with this? And see that a correct and accurate cost estimate is prepared for this simple public records request?

I am on MuckRock, a public news site, and I will be posting this public records email here, politely requesting help in obtaining public records from your school district, on that site.

Thank you.

Susan Alyn
Encl: Cost Estimate

Under your district policy online (the text is shown below) --

http://www.neola.com/miamidade-fl/

-- specifically, as per "8000 Operations" and "Section 8319 - Public Records," a one dollar per page charge is required for each certified page.

I am seeing nothing highlighted on your cost estimate that shows you are charging me the required fee of one dollar per page -- only a fifteen cent charge per page.

Could you please revise the cost estimate to show you are charging me the required one dollar per page fee for each certified page? (And I have requested each page certified.)

I do see the word "certified" highlighted. However -- right now I am seeing only the "15 cent" per page charge, and a "$28 labor charge." Again, I am NOT seeing: the required one dollar charge for certifying each page. Please add that charge to a revised cost estimate.

Thank you.

Susan Alyn

http://www.neola.com/miamidade-fl/

8310 - PUBLIC RECORDS

Public records shall be maintained and made available for inspection and reproduction as required by law.

"Public Records" are defined in State law but do not include student records, medical records, documents containing genetic information, trial preparation records, confidential law enforcement investigatory records, records of release of which is prohibited by State or Federal law, and any other exceptions set forth in Florida Law. Confidential law enforcement investigatory records, medication records, and trial preparation records are as defined in Florida law.

Access to personnel records and records containing exempt or confidential information may be restricted according to F.S. 1012.31, and other applicable laws.

Access to Public Records

The Superintendent has designated the Office of Public Relations to be responsible for handling public records requests and the department shall designate a person or persons to coordinate requests. An individual may inspect and request copies of public records during regular business hours.

Public records requests may be made verbally or in writing. Persons requesting public records shall be encouraged to submit requests in writing to expedite accurate processing of their requests. Verbal requests shall be documented in writing by the person receiving the request and verified by the person making the verbal request in order to expedite accurate processing of requests. Requests should be sufficiently detailed to identify the documents sought to be examined.

A custodian of public records and/or designee must acknowledge requests to inspect or copy records promptly and respond to such requests in good faith. A good faith response includes making reasonable efforts to determine from other officers or employees of the School District whether such a record exists, and, if so, the location at which the record can be accessed. Upon determination that the requested record exists, it must be reviewed to determine whether it contains any information that would be statutorily exempt from public inspection or copying as provided by law. See Policy 8350.

Duplicated copies or certified copies of the District's public records shall be provided upon payment of the fee provided in Florida law. If the nature or volume of the public records requested to be copied or inspected will require extensive use of information technology resources or more than fifteen (15) minutes of clerical or supervisory assistance by District personnel, a special service charge attributable to the extensive use of the information technology resources and/or the labor cost of the personnel providing the service will be collected as permitted by State law.

The actual cost of duplication will also be charged for copies of the District's public records in a form other than a duplicated copy.

If the request for copies or inspection of a public record in any form could result in a special service charge, an estimate of the fee that will be due and payable shall be provided to the requestor. The production/duplication of the requested records will commence upon payment of the estimated fee by the requestor.

Whenever possible the public should be directed to the School District’s free website and informed of the availability of public records that may be accessed without charge.

Pursuant to F.S. 119.07(4), charges for copies are as follows:

A. Up to $0.15 per one (1) one-sided copy for duplicated copies of not more than 14 inches by 8 ½ inches;

B. No more than an additional $0.05 for each two-sided copy; and

C. For all other copies, the actual cost of duplication of the public record.

D. A charge of $1.00 per copy for a certified copy of a public record, if certification is possible.

PS I meant to type: "Section 8310" (not "Section 8319").

Again, just to be clear:

I do see the word "certified" highlighted.

However -- right now I am seeing only the "15 cent" per page charge, and a "$28 labor charge."

I am NOT seeing: the required one dollar charge for certifying each page.

Please add that charge to a revised cost estimate.

Thank you,
Susan Alyn

Mr. Martin: Your latest revised invoice still does not comply with the costs your school district posts on its website. Again, according to your district website:

-------------------------------------

http://www.neola.com/miamidade-fl/

8310 - PUBLIC RECORDS...
Whenever possible the public should be directed to the School District’s free website and informed of the availability of public records that may be accessed without charge.

Pursuant to F.S. 119.07(4), charges for copies are as follows:

A. Up to $0.15 per one (1) one-sided copy for duplicated copies of not more than 14 inches by 8 ½ inches;

B. No more than an additional $0.05 for each two-sided copy; and

C. For all other copies, the actual cost of duplication of the public record.

D. A charge of $1.00 per copy for a certified copy of a public record, if certification is possible.
--------------

I don't think your invoice matches the above instructions on your school district website. Are you charging me $1 instead of 15 cents for copying each of the single-sided 13 pages, and then omitting to explain that certification is costing an additional dollar for each page?

I think your invoice should be charging me 15 cents for copying a single-side page for 13 pages, and then an additional dollar per page for certifying each of 13 pages. Would you agree?

COST OF PAPER AND DUPLICATION
Type # Pages Cost Sub Total
Single-sided (pages) 13 1.00 $13.00
Labor Hours 1.00 28.00 $28.00
$41.00
$41.00
TOTAL COST OF PRODUCTION OF RECORDS (Certified)
TOTAL COST:

To Whom It May Concern:

Please find enclosed a check for $13.00 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.

Thank you.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 13, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

I don't understand why you included a home address and home phone number instead of redacting it. Aren't you required to redact personal information from a public record before releasing the record to the public?

I also don't understand how it is possible this application was accepted by the school district since it is materially incomplete. There are no references listed, no employment history is provided, and no answers to questions about certification or in other sections of the applications. Does your district actually not require a completed application prior to employing a person to teach children in a classroom? That is what it looks like.

I also don't understand how this applicant can claim student teaching experience for a major such as history, without having attended
a college of education prior to applying for the job.

I will review this material you sent again, but right now, on a quick read as I did, it seems you have provided a materially incomplete application -- which should have been rejected and returned to the applicant for completion (unless your district doesn't even bother reading the job applications
of teacher applicants, which is apparently what this materially incomplete application proves).

I think you are incorrect, as I believe there is always an exemption from personal information such as addresses and phone numbers from being released from a teacher's personnel file. I would have to look it up, but I am almost sure such personal information would be redacted.

With respect to what you sent in response to this public records request -- a quick look at your school district website indicates that a completed application is required. Instructions stress this repeatedly.

The submission of recommendation letters is also required.

A resume is also required.

Yet, there was no resume, no recommendation letters, and no completed application provided in response to this public records request.

Here is what your web site instructions for people applying to be teachers in your district, and this states what documents are required to exist in a teacher personnel file:

Miami‐Dade County Public Schools Instructional Hiring Process Page 1 of 2
 Before you begin your application, gather the documents you will need to complete your candidate profile.
 All instructional applicants must provide a complete candidate profile to be considered for employment. The candidate profile consists of:
 Personal information
 Current resume and work history
 Submission of two professional references
 Written by past or present employers or professors
 References must be on letterhead, have an original signature, and be dated within the last year; OR references may be submitted on the
district’s reference form (must have original signature and be dated within the last year).
 References must be uploaded to your candidate profile
 Certification information
Teachers of core academic subjects must be Highly Qualified as defined by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For most teachers, this requires:
 Proof of passing scores on all four parts of the General Knowledge Exam (GKE)
 Proof of a passing score on at least one Subject Area Exam (SAE) and/or a degree major in the core subject area
 Exceptional Student Education teachers must meet state certification requirements for the core academic subject AND the exceptionality of
the students being taught
 For more information on certification requirements and Highly Qualified status, please click here
 Additionally, all candidates must have official sealed transcripts on file in order to be interviewed by principals. Please mail or hand deliver transcripts to:
Miami‐Dade County Public Schools, Transcript Desk, 1450 NE 2nd Avenue, Suite 456, Miami, FL 33132
Transcripts may also be sent electronically via http://www.studentclearinghouse.org . If using this service, you must request that electronic transcripts be
sent to PersRecords@dadeschools.net. Please note that not all colleges and universities participate in the electronic transcript program.

Complete
Requirements
 When you visit the M‐DCPS job board you will see a number of job pools listed by subject area and geographic zone (geo zone). These job pools allow applicants
to choose their preferred teaching assignment(s) and the area(s) of the county in which they would like to teach; however, job pools are not school‐site specific.
Rather, applicants apply to the district via the geographic/subject area zones and will be contacted by schools whose instructional needs fit their qualifications.
 There are three geo zones within the district (North County, Mid‐County, and South County).
 Please apply only to job pool(s) in geo zones and subject areas in which you are willing to work and are qualified to teach.
 You may apply to one or many subject area/geo zone pools.
 To view a map of geo zones and a list of schools in each geo zone, please click here.
 Please be aware that the existence of a particular pool on the job board does not necessarily indicate that there are openings in that subject area/geo zone.
 Once you have selected a job pool from the M‐DCPS job board, you may begin your online application via TeacherMatch.
 The online application is required for all instructional applicants and consists of three required elements:

 Candidate Profile
 The Candidate Profile requires submission of personal and work history. In order to be considered for employment, all sections of the
candidate profile must be complete.
 Educator’s Professional Inventory (EPI)
 The Educators Professional Inventory (EPI) is a profile survey that will take 45 – 90 minutes and will ask you to respond to questions
assessing your teaching skills, attitudes, and cognitive ability.
 The EPI must be completed in one sitting and applicants who do not complete the survey will not be considered for employment.
 Although your EPI results cannot keep you from being hired, they are shared with principals as a part of your hiring profile.
 Job Specific Inventory (JSI)
 The Job Specific Inventory consists of two short answer essay questions.
 Please note that your application will not be visible to principals immediately upon completion. All applicants must be vetted by the Office of Instructional

Staffing and Recruitment to ensure that hiring profiles are complete and minimum qualifications are met prior to being released to principals.

 ....If you accept the position, you will receive an email with instructions on how to complete any pending pre‐employment requirements which may include:
 Drug test
 Fingerprints/background check
 Pre‐employment documents

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I also don't understand how someone like George P Bush could have possibly been allowed to teach in a classroom without any certification whatsoever with this background . I don't think he was even eligible for teacher certification or to work with children with this background:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/george-p-bush/george-p-bush-stalking-758409

A Miami-Dade Police Department report includes an account of the December 31, 1994 incident provided to cops by Murry Cohen, Cristina’s father.

According to Cohen, Bush--wearing black shorts and no shirt--arrived at the residence and “went to his daughter’s bedroom window,” pulled it open, and “pushed the screen inward.” As Bush was “climbing in the window,” Murry Cohen awoke and spotted the trespasser. A neighbor of the Cohens also spotted Bush trying to get into the residence and began to argue with him.

With his intrusion thwarted, Bush “backed out of the window.” Cohen reported seeing Bush then “jump into a vehicle and flee.” But he would not be gone for long.

Bush returned to the home 20 minutes later and drove his car through the Cohens’s yard, causing damage to about 80 feet of the lawn.

When police arrived at the residence, the Cohens identified Bush as the perpetrator. Cristina Cohen explained that she used to date Bush, but that they “have been separated for 1-1/2 years.” She added that Bush “has been a problem ever since they broke up.”

After the Cohens provided police with Bush’s home address, an officer went to the residence and “spoke to him and parents.” But since Murry Cohen did not want to press charges, Bush “was not arrested on the scene,” according to the police report.

-----

An excerpt of the police report is here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/george-p-bush/george-p-bush-stalking-758409

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It seems to me with this background above, no teacher certification (and no student teaching experience, though he claims otherwise on his sworn application, as he was not in a college of education), no resume, no references, no certification, and, an incomplete application, he should not have
been interviewed or hired, until at least meeting the requirement of submitting required paperwork, required by your district.

It appears from this public records request George P Bush did not both to submit required paperwork -- and, your district did not require it.

If I am incorrect about that, then -- I would think there is more to come with this public records request. Is there anything else in the file regarding his job application? (A resume? A work history? Written recommendation letters (2) on letterhead? etc)

I meant to include the URL from your district for the hiring process of teachers: http://jobs.dadeschools.net/teachers/Index.asp

Dear Rolando A. Martín, Director, Community Development and Public Outreach, Public Information:

You sent a payment receipt above, from Anays De Armas, but you did not answer any of my questions. Again, I asked:

Where are the public records in response to this request?

You have provided a partial response -- but your response does not even meet the minimum requirements of your
school district hiring process.

Again, you failed to provide to me what is actually required of a teacher applicant, including George P. Bush, unless the rules
are different for him.

Specifically, you failed to provide the following public records -- all of which are required to be part of his teacher application, according to your district:

1) "Current resume and work history"
2) "Submission of two professional references"
-- "Written by past or present employers or professors"
-- "References must be on letterhead, have an original signature, and be dated within the last year; OR references may be submitted on the
district’s reference form (must have original signature and be dated within the last year)."
4) "Certification Information" -- re his certification document necessary to be in a classroom

Not only that, but George P Bush was hired to teach a core academic subject in a high school - history. Under his uncle's No Child Left Behind federal law, this means the teacher applicant is required to provide passing scores on certain tests prior to being in the classroom. I don't see any compliance with the following application requirement:

5) "Teachers of core academic subjects must be Highly Qualified as defined by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For most teachers, this requires:
--Proof of passing scores on all four parts of the General Knowledge Exam (GKE)
--Proof of a passing score on at least one Subject Area Exam (SAE) and/or a degree major in the core subject area"
--------------------------------

I realize that an agency such as a school district is not required to create documents it does not have in its possession, but - if your district actually does not have the above documents from George P Bush, then it seems to me George P Bush was never actually eligible for an interview, let alone a teaching position, since his application file is materially incomplete.

If I am incorrect about that, please explain. Thank you.

I am searching the FL Educator Certification Look Up site for the certification that was used by George P Bush to teach history in a public high school in Dade -- and I am finding he had no certification whatsoever from the FL Dept of Education:

http://app4.fldoe.org/edcert/Certification_Status.aspx

Either Last Name and First Initial OR DOE Number is required.
You may also select a district.

No Records Found where Last Name contains ''Bush'' and First Name contains ''George''

If that is incorrect - and if you have certification information in his file, as required by your district's application process - let me know here.

Otherwise, it seems to me he was illegally in the classroom.

Thank you.

Thank you for your response here. I think that certification information is required by the district to be included in his job application file (which you already provided) but as I explained above, it wasn't there. Here again is what your district (and every FL district) requires in a job application:

 Certification information
Teachers of core academic subjects must be Highly Qualified as defined by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For most teachers, this requires:
 Proof of passing scores on all four parts of the General Knowledge Exam (GKE)
 Proof of a passing score on at least one Subject Area Exam (SAE) and/or a degree major in the core subject area

--------

I do realize he was hired in 1998, prior to 2000 with his uncle becoming president and then requiring more stringent requirements both for certification of teachers and schools receiving certain federal funds (such as where George P Bush taught), but -- some type of certification had to be required and obtained in order for him to legally be in a public school classroom, whether that is called a temporary or emergency certificate or whatever.

The district had to require some type of license. Unless of course, Miami Dade Public Schools violated the law with respect to hiring George P Bush.

Thank you again.

FYI, via MuckRock, I have now requested from the FL Department of Education any public records concerning George P Bush and any teacher certification he may have had for the year he taught in Miami Dade Public Schools, 1998-1999.

It seems to me if your district had any such information it was required to be included with the public records request I already made to you concerning his job application (based on what the district requires to be included in a job application).

Consequently, thank you anyway, and this request concerning his job application is now finished.

I believe the correct final status of this request is "Partially Completed" since he had a materially incomplete job application at Miami Dade Public Schools (and you were unable to provide all documents your district requires for an application).

Again - as previously stated, I believe the correct final status of this request is "Partially Completed" since George P Bush had a materially incomplete job application at Miami Dade Public Schools (and you were unable to provide all documents your district requires for an application).

With respect to any teaching certificate, I contacted the state via another public records request from MuckRock.