Current Dept. of Ed. sexual assault investigations

This is the Department's acknowledgment of your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was forwarded to the primary responsible office(s) for action.
Any future correspondence or questions regarding your request, please contact the FOIA Public Liaison at
202-401-8365 or EDFOIAManager@ed.gov

Vanessa Nason
MuckRock

re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), FOIA No. 17-02278-F
Title IX - open sexual violence cases against colleges and universities as of July 25, 2017

This is to acknowledge receipt of your FOIA request of July 25, 2017, which was received in the Washington, D.C. office of the U.S Department of Education (Department) on the same day. You requested "a list of all open investigations (as of the date this request was received) into higher education institutions for violating Title IX protections in their handling of sexual assault cases. Please include college/university name, status of investigation, date investigation was opened, and reason why the investigation was opened" (copy attached). Your request is being processed under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552).

We need to speak with you to clarify your request. We will not be able to proceed without clarifying your request. Please call to discuss at your earliest availability. Your request is on hold pending clarification.

Please be aware that release of documents may be more restricted when matters are open for evaluation, investigation, resolution, appeal or monitoring (see 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(7)(A)). Also, note that because of exemptions to disclosure under FOIA, all documents responsive to your request will be redacted to remove the names of all individuals and other personally identifiable information. See (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C) of 5 U.S.C. § 552. Generally, our office has 20 working days from receipt of the request in our office to respond in some manner to FOIA requests. We will make an effort to respond to your request quickly. For your information, under FOIA, OCR provides the first 100 pages of hard copies free of charge with the remaining pages provided at a copying cost of 20 cents per page. Electronic documents, if voluminous, are provided by compact disc at a charge of $3.00 per disc. The Department's implementing regulations provide the first two hours of search time without charge. Should we require more time, we will notify you if the estimated costs exceed $25 before we continue to process your request. Generally, our office provides documents in electronic format unless otherwise specified by the requestor.

Again, I need to speak with you before OCR can begin processing your request.

Shirley Oliver
Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist & FOIA Coordinator
Office for Civil Rights, Seattle Office
U.S. Department of Education
915 2nd Avenue, Room 3310
Seattle, Washington 98174-1099

Direct: 206.607.1633
Fax: 206.607.1601
TDD: 1.800.877.8339
Relay: 1.800.833.6384 or 711

Region X: Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Washington

Ms. Nason,
Thank you for the prompt response and clarification of your request. Your request will be processed by the Department’s Washington, D.C. office.
Shirley Oliver

This e-mail is in response to your request for a status on the subject FOIA request: REQUEST #17-02278-F & 17-02442-F

Status:

Conducting Search for responsive records. Once the search for responsive records has been completed the status will be updated accordingly. In the interim, you can monitor the status of your request via the Department’s FOIA Web page below:

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html - This searchable PDF is a document updated bi-weekly on the FOIA Service Center’s website. You also have the option of calling or emailing EDFOIAManager@ed.gov to get an update of your request for records.

Unfortunately we do not have a specific completion time available. We understand how important your FOIA Request is to you and want to handle it as soon as possible but we must process all FOIA request in their order of receipt. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

Thank you for contacting the U.S. Department of Education FOIA Service Center!

ED FOIA Manager
FOIA Service Center
400 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, DC 20202
202-401-8365 - Hotline
202-401-0920 – Fax
edfoiamanager@ed.gov<mailto:edfoiamanager@ed.gov>

This is the Department's acknowledgment of your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was forwarded to the primary responsible office(s) for action.
Any future correspondence or questions regarding your request, please contact the FOIA Public Liaison at
202-401-8365 or EDFOIAManager@ed.gov

This e-mail is in response to your request for a status on the subject FOIA request: REQUEST #17-02278-F & 17-02442-F

Status:

Conducting Search for responsive records. Once the search for responsive records has been completed the status will be updated accordingly. In the interim, you can monitor the status of your request via the Department’s FOIA Web page below:

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html - This searchable PDF is a document updated bi-weekly on the FOIA Service Center’s website. You also have the option of calling or emailing EDFOIAManager@ed.gov<mailto:EDFOIAManager@ed.gov> to get an update of your request for records.

Unfortunately we do not have a specific completion time available. We understand how important your FOIA Request is to you and want to handle it as soon as possible but we must process all FOIA request in their order of receipt. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

Thank you for contacting the U.S. Department of Education FOIA Service Center!
ED FOIA Manager
FOIA Service Center
400 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, DC 20202
202-401-8365 - Hotline
202-401-0920 – Fax
edfoiamanager@ed.gov<mailto:edfoiamanager@ed.gov<mailto:edfoiamanager@ed.gov%3cmailto:edfoiamanager@ed.gov>>

Dear Ms. Nason,

Please find attached above, the final response to your above mentioned FOIA request.

Thank you,

Elise Cook
Government Information Specialist
US Department of Education
FOIA Service Center
(202) 401-8365

This is the Department's acknowledgment of your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was forwarded to the primary responsible office(s) for action.
Any future correspondence or questions regarding your request, please contact the FOIA Public Liaison at 202-401-8365 or
EDFOIAManager@ed.gov

This is the Department's acknowledgment of your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was forwarded to the primary responsible office(s) for action.
Any future correspondence or questions regarding your request, please contact the FOIA Public Liaison at 202-401-8365 or
EDFOIAManager@ed.gov

Good Afternoon,

In reference to your FOIA Requests:

17-02278-F: Closed; response was sent to you on 10/13/2017.

17-02242-F: Still pending a search for responsive records.

While the Department has not been able to respond in accordance with our FOIA regulations (34 C.F.R. § 5.40<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&amp;sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&amp;rgn=div5&amp;view=text&amp;node=43%3A1.1.1.1.2&amp;idno=43&amp;43%3A1.1.1.1.2.7.5.9>(c)(1)), we have continued to work with the originating program office to try to provide you a determination on your FOIA as expeditiously as possible.
We apologize for this delay. Although we hope that you will wait so that we can complete our review and provide you our final determination on your request, you have the right to seek mediation or litigation if you are dissatisfied with the Department’s response.
You have the right to seek assistance and/or dispute resolution services from the Department’s FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). The FOIA Public Liaison is responsible, among other duties, for assisting in the resolution of FOIA disputes. OGIS, which is outside the Department of Education, offers mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation.
They can be contacted by:
Mail

FOIA Public Liaison
Office of the Chief Privacy Officer
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave., SW, LBJ 2W218-58
Washington, DC 20202-4536

Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001

E-mail

robert.wehausen@ed.gov<mailto:robert.wehausen@ed.gov>

OGIS@nara.gov<mailto:OGIS@nara.gov>

Phone

202-205-0733

202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448

Fax

202-401-0920

202-741-5769

Good Afternoon,

Please find attached a final letter and responsive document regarding your FOIA request.

Thank you,

DeShawn Middleton
FOIA Service Center, OM/OCPO
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 218-42
Washington, DC 20202-4510
FOIA Hotline (202) 401-8365

Please send your request to EDFOIAMANAGER@ed.gov<mailto:EDFOIAMANAGER@ed.gov>.
Thanks,

DeShawn

Dear Vanessa Nason,
This is the Department's acknowledgment of your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was forwarded to the primary responsible office(s) for action.
Any future correspondence or questions regarding your request, please contact the FOIA Public Liaison at 202-401-8365 or
Thank you. (mailto:EDFOIAManager@ed.gov) EDFOIAManager@ed.gov
ED FOIA Manager
FOIA Service Center
U.S. Department of Education

Hello,

Please file a new FOIA request.

ED FOIA MANAGER

Good Morning,

Please find attached an initial determination letter.

Have a nice day.
Best,

Vera Mitchell
[https://i.imgur.com/f8dAnOG.png]
FOIA Analyst
FOIA Service Center, OM/OCPO
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 7C102
Washington, DC 20202-4510
FOIA Hotline (202) 453-6336

Good Morning/Afternoon,

Please find attached an initial determination letter.

Have a nice day.

Vera Mitchell
[https://i.imgur.com/f8dAnOG.png]
FOIA Analyst
FOIA Service Center, OM/OCPO
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 7C102
Washington, DC 20202-4510
FOIA Hotline (202) 453-6336

Good Afternoon,

Please find attached an initial determination letter.

Have a nice day.

Vera Mitchell
[https://i.imgur.com/f8dAnOG.png]
FOIA Analyst
FOIA Service Center, OM/OCPO
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 7C102
Washington, DC 20202-4510
FOIA Hotline (202) 453-6336

Good Afternoon,

Please find attached a final response in reference to your request. Have a nice day.
Best,

Michelle L. Smith
[https://i.imgur.com/f8dAnOG.png]
Program Manager
Senior FOIA Analyst
FOIA Service Center, OM/OCPO
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 207-01
Washington, DC 20202-4510
FOIA Hotline (202) 401-8365

Dear Vanessa Nason , This communication is in regards toa pending FOIA request that was submitted to ED on September 25, 2017. On behalf of the Department, pleaseaccept my apology for the delay in finalizing this FOIA request, but I’m reaching out to you to determine if you are stillinterested in having the Department fulfill your request. Over the passage of time, the need for particular information diminishes, andin our current climate of limited resources, it would be beneficial to know ifwe no longer need to allocate resources to this request. Please let me know ifyou are still interested as soon as possible by responding to this email. A  lack of response by April 17, 2021 will be interpretedthat this request is no longer of interest, resulting in itsadministrative closure. Again, on behalf of the Department,please accept my apologies for the delay in finalizing your FOIA request. Sandra Lewandowski FOIA Service Center Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of Education (202) 401-8365

Dear Vanessa Nason , This communication is in regards toa pending FOIA request that was submitted to ED on September 25, 2017. On behalf of the Department, pleaseaccept my apology for the delay in finalizing this FOIA request, but I’m reaching out to you to determine if you are stillinterested in having the Department fulfill your request. Over the passage of time, the need for particular information diminishes, andin our current climate of limited resources, it would be beneficial to know ifwe no longer need to allocate resources to this request. Please let me know ifyou are still interested as soon as possible by responding to this email. A  lack of response by November 17, 2022 will be interpretedthat this request is no longer of interest, resulting in itsadministrative closure. Again, on behalf of the Department,please accept my apologies for the delay in finalizing your FOIA request. Sandra Lewandowski FOIA Service Center Office of the Secretary U.S. Department of Education (202) 401-8365