The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, was enacted in 1966 and provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. All agencies of the U.S. Government are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records that are protected from disclosure by the nine exemptions to the FOIA listed below. The federal FOIA does not provide access to records held by state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals. Most states, and some local jurisdictions, have their own laws about access to state and local records. State ED agencies should be contacted for further information about these statutes.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) advises the public and Department of Education (ED) employees regarding FOIA requests and ED information available to the public. As the lead organization for ED's FOIA Program, OCIO provides training for ED officials and guidance and support to the FOIA Coordinators and FOIA Review Officers in the principal offices and 12 regional and field offices. To learn more, select a topic below.

Exemptions

All agency records must be made available to the public under the FOIA, except for records that are:

1. Properly classified as secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy;
2. Related solely to internal personnel rules and practices;
3. Specifically made confidential by other statutes;
4. Concerning trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
5. Interagency or intra-agency memoranda or letters, except under certain circumstances;
6. Personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
7. Compiled for law enforcement purposes;
8. Contained in or related to certain examination, operating, or condition reports concerning financial institutions; and
9. Concerning gas or oil wells.

Text of the Freedom of Information Act

FOIA and the Privacy Act

Under certain circumstances you may be entitled to receive more information under the Privacy Act of 1974 than under the FOIA. Privacy Act requests can be made only by U.S. citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent U.S. residence who are seeking information about themselves in a system of records maintained under their names or other personal identifiers. Even if a request does not mention the Privacy Act, ED automatically treats requests as being made under both the FOIA and the Privacy Act, whenever it is appropriate to do so. Thus, requesters receive the maximum amount of information available to them by law. For more information, see the Privacy Act page.

Text of the Privacy Act

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