Email system documentation (U.S. Department of Education)

Emma North-Best filed this request with the U.S. Department of Education of the United States of America.
Tracking #

17-01021-F

Est. Completion None
Status
Awaiting Appeal

Communications

From: Michael Best

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Documentation describing the email system(s) used by your agency, including the procedures and methods for performing searches of the email system.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities for AND Magazine, MuckRock and Glomar Disclosure and have an open arrangement with each. My articles have been widely read, with some reaching over 100,000 readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through the non-profit Internet Archive, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance. Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross-section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media. Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category. As such, my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available and I therefore request that fees be waived.

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Michael Best

From: Jones, Kim

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

From: Cook, Elise

Dear Mr. Best,

Please find attached above, the final response to your fee waiver request.

Thank you,

Elise Cook
Government Information Specialist
FOIA Service Center
Office of The Chief Privacy Officer
US Department of Education
(202) 401-8365

From: Jones, Kim

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

From: Short, Jacqueline (Contractor)

Mr. Best:

Please see the attached letter concerning your FOIA request to the Department of Education.

v/r,

JACQUELINE (JACKIE) M. SHORT
Senior FOIA Analyst
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 4C155
Washington, DC 20202-4510

From: Short, Jacqueline (Contractor)

Good afternoon:

Please see the attached documents concerning your FOIA request to the Department of Education FOIA Service Center.

v/r,

JACQUELINE (JACKIE) M. SHORT
FOIA Analyst
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 4C155
Washington, DC 20202-4510

From: U.S. Department of Education

RE: FOIA Request No. 18-00813-F
Dear Michael:
This letter is in response to your request dated January 9, 2018, requesting information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was received in this office on January 18, 2018. Your request has been assigned to the Office of the General Counsel within the Department to search for documents that may be responsive to your request.
In your request, you have asked for a waiver of all fees associated with the processing of your request. You will receive the records that you requested, if they exist, but, your request for a fee waiver is denied.

  • 18-00813-F Fee Waiver Determination - Denied_Other - Copy

From: Emma North-Best

I am appealing the decision to deny news media status because I failed to "provided any evidence demonstrating public interest in the documents. " Courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category.

  • 18-00813-F Fee Waiver Determination - Denied_Other - Copy

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