Business Insider public records law request August 16 2022
Submitted | Aug. 16, 2022 |
Due | Sept. 6, 2022 |
Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Insider Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
-All separation agreements and settlements reached with current and former teachers who taught in the district between January 1, 2017 through the day this request is fulfilled.
-All public records relating to any and all claims of misconduct against current and former teachers who taught in the district between January 1, 2017 through the day this request is fulfilled. Such public records should include, but not be limited to, all complaints; allegations; claims; investigatory reports; analyses; summaries; memoranda and/or notes; interview recordings; transcripts and/or notes; reviews; emails, text or other electronic messages, voicemails, and/or other communications and/or correspondence; determinations; decisions; orders; resignation letters; employment reclassification documents; offers in compromise and/or settlement agreements; termination and/or transfer papers; letters of reproval and/or other disciplinary actions, whether imposed or not; referrals to law enforcement, administrative, and/or licensing agencies, departments, and/or bodies; appeals; court filings and/or rulings; and all similar materials notwithstanding the use of other terminology, nomenclature, or categorization by this or other involved public agencies.
To further clarify this request, the scope of the misconduct at issue arises from, relates to, and/or is a consequence of sexual behavior and/or activities with district students, whether currently or previously enrolled, and notwithstanding whether any such behavior and/or activities were proven to have occurred or not. The construction of this request should be understood to be liberal and expansive, such that all public records which may be remotely responsive should be produced in full and may only be withheld and/or redacted only as required by law.
I would like these records in the electronic format that they are stored in, transmitted via email or other digital method; please refrain from sending paper copies of the records.
Rather than provide all responsive records at once, I ask that you provide copies of records on a rolling basis, as they become available.
If you determine that any of the information qualifies for an exemption from disclosure, I ask you to note whether the exemption is discretionary, and if so whether it is necessary in this case to exercise your discretion to withhold the information. In any event, please provide a signed notification citing the legal authorities on which you rely if you determine that any of the information is exempt and will not be disclosed.
Please waive any applicable fees; this information is being sought for reporting purposes. If I can provide any clarification that will help expedite the processing of my request, please contact me directly, at mdrange@insider.com.
Note: a delay in access to these records is tantamount to a denial of access.
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 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 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Nicole Kanu, a citizen of Arkansas, in coordination with Insider Staff.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2022. 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: Pulaski County Special School District
Matt,
I am reviewing a large file for one employee. I will get you these
documents today.
Valerie Bailey
Public Information Specialist, PCSSD
Phone: 501-234-2045
vbailey9741@pcssd.org <email@pcssd.org>
*This email and attachments contain confidential information. All content
is intended for the recipient only, and may not be copied, published,
redistributed, or converted to hard copy, by any party other than the
recipient. If you have received this email in error, please contact the
sender, and delete the email and attachments. *
From: Pulaski County Special School District
Matt,
I am sending the files regarding former employee Stephanie Almand through
Hightail. You will receive a separate email.
Valerie Bailey
Public Information Specialist, PCSSD
Phone: 501-234-2045
vbailey9741@pcssd.org <email@pcssd.org>
*This email and attachments contain confidential information. All content
is intended for the recipient only, and may not be copied, published,
redistributed, or converted to hard copy, by any party other than the
recipient. If you have received this email in error, please contact the
sender, and delete the email and attachments. *
From:
PCSSD FOIA has shared 3 files. (https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/BP0qrfkwa4/dXMtZDQ4NmI3YmUtZGY5NS00YzM2LWIwMjItYmRlMTczNGNkZjU0)
3 files • 31 MB total • Expires 09/02/2022 UTC
"Attached are redacted files related to former employee S. Almand"
PDF
Almand Personnel File + Investigative Report_Redacted.pdf
29.4 MB
PDF
Court Order to produce records (1).pdf
876.3 KB
PDF
S Almand Resignation_Redacted.pdf
337.5 KB
VIEW ALL FILES
Share large files securely through Hightail. Sign up for a free account. (http://spaces.hightail.com/signup)
Terms | (https://www.hightail.com/terms) Privacy (https://www.opentext.com/about/copyright-information/site-privacy)
-
3_files_from_FOIA_Request_PCSSD_Aug_16
From: Insider Staff
Thank you, Valerie. I'm not seeing the email with attachments... could you please try resending when you get a chance?
From: Pulaski County Special School District
Did you receive the email from through Hightail from FOIARequest@pcssd.org?
I show it was delivered.
Thanks,
Valerie
From: Insider Staff
Yes, thank you Valerie.
To clarify: does the Pulaski County Special School District have any additional responsive records for this request? And if so, when should I expect to receive them?
With more than 17,000 students, it doesn't seem plausible that the district would have only a single separation agreement with a teacher over the past five years. It also doesn't seem plausible that your office would only have received complaints or allegations of misconduct since 2017 against a single teacher.
Could you please let me know what search term(s) were used to process this request, as well as which department(s) were searched?
Thanks again,
From: Pulaski County Special School District
Matt,
In our last exchange, I understood you wanted separations regarding sexual
misconduct, per you rclarification:
Hi Valerie, thank you for the update.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2022. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2022. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2022. 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.