[Date]
[Superintendent’s Name]
Superintendent, [District Name] Area School District
Via email: [email address]
(Please forward to the staff member responsible for FOIA requests)
Dear [name],
This letter is to request the following records, under the state’s Open Records Law (19.31-39, Wisconsin Statutes).
I am interested in receiving information:
- Information regarding the district’s position and curriculum for Critical Race Theory (CRT)
- Materials used in teacher trainings during the 2020-2021 school year
- Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum materials for the 2019-2020 school year
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training materials for the 2020-2021 school year
- A list of board school board members, district/school staff members and committee members (including volunteers) dedicated to creating policy and curriculum regarding CRT, SEL and DEI
- Grant applications or awards in the last three years that include funding for DEI/CRT
Search terms include, but are not limited to:
I am interested in receiving and entitled to receive communications that are considered transitory in nature that exist at the time this request is received. I am also requesting that any responsive communications that exist in trash or deleted folders be provided.
The Open Records law defines “record” to include information that is maintained on paper as well as electronically, including but not limited to examples such as data files, text messages, and unprinted emails. Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2).
The Open Records law “shall be construed in every instance with the presumption of complete public access consistent with the conduct of governmental business. The denial of access generally is contrary to the public interest and only in exceptional cases can access be denied.” If you deny my request, the law requires you to do so in writing and state what part of the law you believe entitles you to deny my request. Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(a).
The Open Records law states that you may charge for “the actual, necessary and direct cost” of locating records, if this exceeds $50, and for photocopies. The Wisconsin Department of Justice advises that copying fees under the Open Records law should be “around 15 cents per page and that anything in excess of 25 cents may be suspect.” Please advise me before processing this request if the total cost will exceed $50.
The law requires you to respond to this request “as soon as practicable and without delay.”
If you plan to deny this request, please inform me prior to the denial so I may modify my request accordingly.
If you are not the records custodian for this information, please forward this request to the appropriate person. Also, please let me know if I can clarify or refine this request.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,