Title IX complaints in NH
| Tracking # |
14-01813-F |
| Submitted | July 18, 2014 |
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Communications
From: Jim Haddadin
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
Any and all Title IX complaints filed since 2004 involving schools in New Hampshire.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
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 look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jim Haddadin
From: Blocker, Carlita
None
From: Otto, Diana
Good afternoon,
I have just received your below Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which you submitted to our Headquarters office in Washington DC last Friday, July 18th. In order to continue processing your FOIA request, can you please clarify the following information for me?
1) Are you interested in specific types of Title IX complaints (e.g. Title IX athletics, Title IX sexual assault/violence/harassment), or are you interested in receiving a copy of any complaint containing a Title IX allegation "involving schools in New Hampshire"?
2) Are you interested in receiving copies of complaints filed against elementary/secondary schools or post-secondary schools or both types of schools in New Hampshire?
3) Regarding the type of documentation you are requesting-are you looking just for a copy of the initial complaint filed with our office or is there additional documentation you are seeking from each responsive Title IX case (e.g. notification letters, resolution letters, resolution agreements, etc.)?
Once we have received the above information from you, we will be able to continue processing your request and, depending on the scope or responsive documents, will discuss our anticipated timeframe for providing a complete response to your request (likely within 20 business days of your response to this email). We will notify you in advance of any fees associated with your request. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me by email (Diana.Otto@ed.gov<mailto:Diana.Otto@ed.gov>) or by phone at (617) 289-0073.
Regards,
Diana
Diana Otto
Civil Rights Investigator
US Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights
5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617-289-0073
Email: Diana.Otto@ed.gov<mailto:Diana.Otto@ed.gov>
Fax: 617-289-0150
OCR is committed to providing the public, including students, parents, educators, representatives of school districts, colleges, and universities, and other interested persons, with information about the civil rights laws OCR enforces. In responding to correspondence, OCR provides customers with general, publicly-available information about a wide variety of civil rights issues in the education context. However, OCR does not provide legal or other advice or issue advisory opinions to customers concerning specific factual scenarios. Correspondence issued by OCR in response to an inquiry from the public does not constitute a formal statement of OCR policy and should not be construed as creating or articulating new policy. OCR's formal policy statements are approved by a duly authorized OCR official and made available to the public.
From: Jim Haddadin
Diana,
Thanks very much for your prompt response, and for your assistance processing my request. To address your questions:
1) I am interested in all types of Title IX complaints involving schools in New Hampshire, and do not wish to limit my request to any particular category.
2) Please provide only copies of complaints pertaining to post-secondary schools, such as colleges and universities. I am not interested in complaints involving primary or secondary schools, such as high schools.
3) At this time, I only wish to receive copies of the Title IX complaints themselves. I will review any responsive documents and file a separate request in the future if I wish to review additional records pertaining to the complaints.
Thanks again for your assistance, and please let me know if I can further clarify the records I am seeking.
All the best,
Jim Haddadin
From: Otto, Diana
Dear Mr. Haddadin,
Thank you for the clarification. I do have one more question for you--are you interested in receiving copies of all complaints filed against post-secondary schools in NH, regardless of whether OCR investigated them? There are a number of complaints that were filed that meet the criteria below, but that OCR dismissed because they did not meet the threshold to open for investigation, as outlined in our Case Processing Manual (e.g. they may not have been filed timely, they may have failed to state a violation of one or more laws that OCR enforces, etc.). Please advise and, once I have this information, I will gather all responsive documents and reach out to you to give you our anticipated time frame for completing our review of the documents and providing our response to you (likely within 20 business days of today), as well as whether there are any fees associated with the request.
Again--if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks again for your attention to this matter.
Best,
Diana
From: Jim Haddadin
Diana,
I'd like to request copies of all complaints, regardless of whether OCR investigated them. It would certainly be helpful if you could indicate in some manner which complaints were investigated, but I understand your office doesn't have any requirement to do so.
Thanks,
Jim Haddadin
From: Otto, Diana
Good morning,
Thank you for your email. We will certainly provide copies of all complaints that meet the criteria you have outlined below and in your previous email. I will look into whether there is a way we might be able to provide you with the information regarding which complaints were investigated. We anticipate providing a completed response to your request on or before August 20, 2014. If you have any questions about the status of your request, please feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Diana
From: Otto, Diana
Good afternoon,
I wanted to give you an update on the status of your FOIA request. We are still in the process of reviewing the documents responsive to your request. There are over 300 pages of responsive documents, and at this point we do anticipate needing more time to complete our review. At this point in time, we do anticipate issuing our response within the next 10 business days, (on or before September 5th). I apologize for the delay. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Regards,
Diana
From: Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights
A cover letter granting the request and outlining any exempted materials, if any.
Files
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