We make FOIA harder than it should be

An article in today’s Washington Post features school districts across the country that have been flooded with public records requests, many of which result in tens of thousands of responsive records.

The culprits in this story are conservative parents who, since COVID, have used FOIA and similar laws to seek information on masking, vaccines, transgender policies, books in libraries, CRT and so on.

And the victims in this story are liberal school districts who spend so much time responding to FOIA requests that they can’t do their other work.

There’s the expected finger-pointing and a dash of outrage in the comments section that taxpayer money is being wasted to appease these ruffians.

If we can step back from the oversimplification and partisan finger-pointing, there are some important truths we need to recognize.

We are all, collectively, killing FOIA’s promise.

First, adding staff to handle the increase in public records requests is cast as a bad thing. But is it? Public bodies have historically undervalued FOIA by making employees with an already full plate take on FOIA duties as well; not thinking through policies and workflow; not investing in fulfillment tools; and not endowing front-line workers with authority to make decisions.

Public bodies constantly shift personnel around and adjust budgets to adapt to the ebb and flow of work demand in all of their departments and divisions. Adding FOIA personnel is no different. We would not begrudge hiring more building inspectors to handle a commercial development boom, so why should we begrudge beefing up the department that handles requests for public records?

On the other hand, requesters have increasingly engaged in everything-and-the-kitchen-sink requests, asking for records covering long periods of time, dozens of people and scores of vague or ordinary keywords. These requests yield thousands of records and those records have to be reviewed. There are discretionary exemptions that MAY be used, and there are places throughout the rest of state and federal law that PROHIBIT the disclosure of some information.

Despite the story’s vantage point of the schools, make no mistake: this is a problem affecting all public bodies and on the full range of topics, e.g., public schools for the right; criminal justice for the left, and then anything and everything in between.

Public bodies often shoot themselves in the foot by viewing FOIA as "other," or "extra," and by missing the public relations aspect of FOIA. The FOIA request is an opportunity to show your citizens that you are organized, competent, responsive, open and helpful.

It's an opportunity to talk to requesters--some of whom have never heard of FOIA before making this first request--about exactly what it is they want, why their broad request is both time-consuming, potentially expensive and may result in a lot of excess stuff they don't want.

It's also a PR opportunity to show the public how you're doing things right. Or, if not right in their eyes, then at least clearly and thoughtfully executed.

This guy seems to have embraced that opportunity.

And citizens miss the opportunity to productively engage with their government when they brandish FOIA as a sword: The gatekeepers must be vanquished as the spoils of the request are carried off. No, it’s just information. You’re entitled to it and you can draw your own conclusions, but be nice to the people. Be thoughtful and smart. If all you want is a slice of cake, you don’t ask for the whole bakery and criticize the baker when you place your order

By investing in FOIA and by using FOIA responsibly, there is this: the more collaborative we can be, the closer we can come to realizing the essential role FOIA plays in our democratic process.