FOIA TEA Teachers Sanctioned, AG Letter 2

7/31/2019 FOIA TEA Teachers Sanctioned, AG Letter 2

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April 26, 2012

Open Records DivisionOffice of the Attorney GeneralPO Box 12548Austin Texas 78701

I am writing to challenge the Texas Education Agencys$2,380 in estimated charges to produce certain records onteachers found to have violated laws regarding student

testing. I am requesting your office review thecorrespondence in this matter and determine theappropriate charge for providing the requested information.

I write to contest the charges for public records under TexasGovernment Code 552.269.While I understand the costs involved with heeding thestates open

records law, I also see there is plenty of room to inflate costsregarding the gathering of those records. On April 11, Ireceived an email (Exhibit A) from Rebecca Marquez at the

Texas Education Agency seeking clarification regarding myrequest of April 3, 2012 (Exhibit B).

In part, it read: Currently your request states that you areseekingall documents this would include the entire file on theseeducators. If this correct, TEA will seek an Office of theAttorneyGeneral (OAG) ruling to withhold that information as the fileisconsidered attorney work product. The OAG will issue thedecisionwithin 45 business days and their office will provide you a


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and/or their representation regarding their case.

On April 16 Brittney Saliz in the open records office of theTexas

Education Agency sent me an email (Exhibit D), againseekingclarification. It read in part:

Are you requesting the names of ALL educators who havebeen chargedwith those allegations, including those cases that wereadministratively closed with no sanction? Or are yourequesting thenames of ONLY those educators who received sanctions

such asrevocations, voluntary surrenders, suspensions, reprimands,etc.?

Regarding "all statements and affidavits from the educatorsand/ortheir representation regarding their case."

Our files contain various documents that can be considered

"statementsand affidavits" by the educators or their representation. Are

yourequesting ALL correspondence and/or filings from theeducator ortheir representative regarding their case? Or are yourequesting anydocument from the educator or their representative thatspecificallystates the educators position on the matter? For example,these arethe various forms of statements and/or affidavits that may

possiblyexist in the file:

Correspondence letters from the educators and/or their


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representationGeneral pleadings and answers to petitionsPleadings in response to any type of motionsPleadings in the form of exhibits

General discovery responsesDiscovery documents produced by the educator

Because the phrase "all statements andaffidavits...regarding theircase" is somewhat vague, we will need to know if you aresimply askingfor any one document that may exist in the file with theeducatorsgeneral position on the matter or if you are requesting all

correspondence and/or filings from the educator or theirrepresentatives regarding their case.

I again responded with a very similar clarification (Exhibit E):

My interest is not in allegations; my request did not includethatword and I'm not sure where that came from - I am seekingthe names of

all who have received revocations, voluntary surrender ofcertification, probated suspension, certificate suspended,inscribedreprimand and non-inscribed reprimand. I am seeking allcorrespondencerelating to the case in any of these, including thoseexamples that

you have noted - a statement or anything that is thecounterpart to alegal exhibit in the case.

Which brings us to the cost estimate of $2,380. I keepingwith Section552.269 of the Texas government Code, I feel this is anovercharge.In an email dated April 24, (Exhibit F) there is no notice that


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theinformation I requested is not available in requested form,nor is therea description of the form in which it is available as required

by552.231. I further see no description of the work needed toproducethe requested information in any form, let alone therequested form.

The Texas Education Agency has submitted a cost estimatewith nodescription of what it is producing and how it is doing so,failing tofollow the states open records laws.

Texas Government Code is to be liberally construed in favorofgranting a request for information. Supporting my case istruly thespirit and intent of our open records law in the state of

Texas.I ask the Attorney Generals office to ask the agency releaseallrecords now in order for the TEA to comply with my request.

I am alsoamenable to in-person inspection of these remainingrecords.

Thank You

Steve MillerTexas Watchdog945 McKinney#221Houston Texas [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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cc: [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

FOIA TEA Teachers Sanctioned, AG Letter 2

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