Expulsions in abeyance
| Submitted | Aug. 23, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Meredith Kolodner
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
1) Data regarding the number of student expulsions held in abeyance (or any other term used to describe student expulsions which have been temporarily suspended contingent on student compliance with a behavior contract, alternative school or program, etc.) in Rockford School District 205 for each school year between 2016-2021, including raw total, raw data by race (white, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, two or more races) raw data by gender (male, female, other), raw data for students with an IEP/non-IEP, raw data for students by grade in school (pre-K-12), and raw data for students placed in an alternative educational program or otherwise had a change in school placement.
2) Copies of any policies or standard agreements for expulsions held in abeyance contingent on placement in an alternative educational program, or any other similar term or practice.
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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Meredith Kolodner
From: School District 205, Rockford Il
Hello Ms. Kolodner,
The District is extending the time to respond to your attached Freedom of Information Act request for the following reasons:
___ We store the requested records in whole or in part at another location(s).
_x_ Responding to the request requires that we collect a substantial number of specified records.
___ The request is couched in categorical terms and requires that we conduct an extensive search for the records responsive to it.
___ In order to determine whether the requested records are exempt under Section 7 of FOIA or must be redacted in part before they are disclosed, we must have the documents reviewed.
_x_ We cannot comply with the request for records within the 5 business day time limit without unduly burdening or interfering with our operations.
We will respond to your request by September 8, 2022. Thank you for your understanding.
Chris Euhus
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Rockford School District #205
815.966.3109 (office)
[cid:4d613b88-7947-4145-b8dd-608170211e6f]
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From: School District 205, Rockford Il
Hello Ms. Kolodner,
Please permit this email to serve as Rockford School District's response to your Freedom of Information Act request below. Your individual requests are set forth below, along with the District's responses.
Request #1: Data regarding the number of student expulsions held in abeyance (or any other term used to describe student expulsions which have been temporarily suspended contingent on student compliance with a behavior contract, alternative school or program, etc.) in Rockford School District 205 for each school year between 2016-2021, including raw total, raw data by race (white, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, two or more races) raw data by gender (male, female, other), raw data for students with an IEP/non-IEP, raw data for students by grade in school (pre-K-12), and raw data for students placed in an alternative educational program or otherwise had a change in school placement.
Response to Request #1: Attached please find a spreadsheet providing the Expulsion in Abeyance (EIA) data requested. Please note, student numbers less than ten are not provided to protect student privacy, consistent with the Illinois State Board of Education practice. Confidential student information is prohibited from disclosure under the Illinois School Student Records Act, 105 ILCS 10/1 et seq. and is exempt from disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a) and 5 ILCS 140/7.5(r).
Request #2: Copies of any policies or standard agreements for expulsions held in abeyance contingent on placement in an alternative educational program, or any other similar term or practice.
Response to Request #2: The Student Code of Conduct describes and governs EIAs. The current Student Code of Conduct was Board approved on April 12, 2022, and is posted on the District's website at:
A copy of the standard agreement for EIAs is attached. Please note the Expulsion in Abeyance (EIA) sample document attached was the version in effect for the 2021-22 school year. This document has been revised from time to time. At the time of your request an updated sample EIA document was being drafted.
You have a right to have this response reviewed by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). You can file your Request for Review with the PAC by writing to:
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701
Phone 877-299-FOIA
Fax: 217-782-1396
E-mail: publicaccess@atg.state.il.us<mailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us>
You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court. 5 ILCS 140/11. If you choose to file a Request for Review with the PAC, you must do so within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). Please note that you must include a copy of your original FOIA request and this denial letter when filing a Request for Review with the PAC. Thank you.
Joyce Matos
FOIA Officer's Designee
Legal Department
From: Meredith Kolodner
Thank you very much for this.
I understand that the numbers under 10 are being suppressed for privacy purposes.
Would it be possible to send me the total number in the district (not broken down by school) of student expulsions held in abeyance (or any other term used to describe student expulsions which have been temporarily suspended contingent on student compliance with a behavior contract, alternative school or program, etc.) broken down by race, gender, IEP status and placement in an alternative setting?
Thanks,
Meredith
From: School District 205, Rockford Il
Hello Meridith,
The District is extending the time to respond to your Freedom of Information Act request below for the following reason:
___ We store the requested records in whole or in part at another location(s).
_x_ Responding to the request requires that we collect a substantial number of specified records.
___ The request is couched in categorical terms and requires that we conduct an extensive search for the records responsive to it.
___ In order to determine whether the requested records are exempt under Section 7 of FOIA or must be redacted in part before they are disclosed, we must have the documents reviewed.
_x_ We cannot comply with the request for records within the 5 business day time limit without unduly burdening or interfering with our operations.
We will respond to your request by September 27, 2022. Thank you for your understanding.
Chris Euhus
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Rockford School District #205
501 Seventh Street, Rockford IL 61104
815.966.3109 (office)
[cid:1694fa9d-cb8d-472b-9f49-5905eb5af297]
[cid:275bf4db-d2b5-4479-8f39-e88716ea221e] <http://facebook.com/rps205> [cid:f65fb0a3-ca5c-461c-8df8-ac4881560ba5] <http://twitter.com/rps205> [cid:be728061-0cde-41bf-8924-17be21270ef8] <http://instagram.com/rps205> [cid:7ab29cb2-5d12-4d6b-b38c-647d56a7f907] <http://youtube.com/rps205Communications>
The contents of this e-mail message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) named in this message. This communication is intended to be and to remain confidential and may be subject to applicable attorney/client and/or work product privileges. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply e-mail and then delete this message and its attachments. Do not deliver, distribute or copy this message and/or any attachments and if you are not the intended recipient, do not disclose the contents or take any action in reliance upon the information contained in this communication or any attachments.
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Outlook-0fty5rtx
From: Meredith Kolodner
Thank you!
From: School District 205, Rockford Il
Hello Meridith,
Please permit this email to serve as Rockford School District #205's response to your Freedom of Information Act request below. A spreadsheet showing the race, gender, grade level and IEP status for students with an Expulsion in Abeyance Agreement (EIA) from 2016-2021 is attached. The EIAs recorded in the attached spreadsheet are recorded by date of the underlying offense.
In addition, you requested the numbers of students with EIAs between 2016-2021 who were placed in an alternative educational program or otherwise had a change in school placement from the student's assigned school. This information has not been maintained in our electronic student information system. An individual student's school assignment may change for a variety of reasons (i.e. change of address, grade progression from middle to high school, IEP placement change etc.) As such, a comparison of assignment prior to and following an EIA would not provide reliable data.
Please note that student numbers less than ten are not provided to protect student privacy, consistent with the Illinois State Board of Education practice. Confidential student information is prohibited from disclosure under the Illinois School Student Records Act, 105 ILCS 10/1 et seq. and is exempt from disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a) and 5 ILCS 140/7.5(r).
To the extent you consider this response a denial of your request, you have a right to have this response reviewed by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). You can file your Request for Review with the PAC by writing to:
Sarah Pratt
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701
Phone 877-299-FOIA
Fax: 217-782-1396
E-mail: publicaccess@atg.state.il.us<mailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us<mailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us%3cmailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us>>
You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court. 5 ILCS 140/11. If you choose to file a Request for Review with the PAC, you must do so within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). Please note that you must include a copy of your original FOIA request and this denial letter when filing a Request for Review with the PAC. Thank you.
Chris Euhus
Freedom of Information Act Officer
501 Seventh Street
Rockford, IL 61104
From: Meredith Kolodner
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Meredith Kolodner
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