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:
- Properly classified as secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy;
- Related solely to internal personnel rules and practices;
- Specifically made confidential by other statutes;
- Concerning trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
- Interagency or intra-agency memoranda or letters, except under certain circumstances;
- Personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
- Compiled for law enforcement purposes;
- Contained in or related to certain examination, operating, or condition reports concerning financial institutions; and
- 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
You May Not Need to Make a FOIA Request! You may be able to access the information you need via World Wide Web without making a FOIA request. Many documents are available on the ED web site, and you can perform a search for them. Also, certain records will be available electronically in our electronic FOIA (E-FOIA) reading room when it is complete. These records include: (1) final opinions and orders made in adjudicating cases; (2) final statements of policy and interpretations not published in the Federal Register; (3) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff; (4) copies of previous FOIA requests and responses ED believes are likely to be requested again, and (5) the agency's annual FOIA reports to Congress.
If you have visited the E-FOIA reading room and were not able to find the information you are looking for, you may need to make a FOIA request. Please follow the guidelines below so that we can respond to your request as quickly as possible.
FOIA Request Guidelines
- Make your request in writing, either handwritten or typed.
- Be as specific as possible with regard to names, dates, places, events, subjects, etc. If known, you should include any file designations or descriptions for the records that you want. You do not have to give a requested record's exact name or title, but the more specific you are about the record or types of records that you want, the easier it will be for ED to locate them.
See the E-FOIA reading room for more information about the types of records at ED.
- Include a return address, daytime phone number, and e-mail address (if available) in case we must clarify your request.
- Send your request to the following address:
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- U.S. Department of Education
Office of the Chief Information Officer
550 12th Street, SW, PCP, 9th Floor, Room 9148
Washington, DC 20202-4750
Attn: FOIA Officer
You may also fax your request to (202) 245-6623 or e-mail it to OCIO_FOIA@ed.gov.
- To avoid delay, be sure to display prominently on the envelope, fax cover sheet, or e-mail subject line, "FOIA Request."
If Your Request Includes Privacy Act Issues
If, as part of your FOIA request, you request information about yourself under the Privacy Act, you will be asked to provide either a notarized statement or a statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that you are the person who you claim to be. You may fulfill this requirement by: (1) having your signature on your request letter witnessed by a notary, or (2) including the following statement just before the signature on your request letter: "I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date]." If you request information about yourself and do not follow these procedures, your request cannot be processed.
No matter which act you cite in your request, ED staff will process your request appropriately. See "What is FOIA" for more information.
For questions concerning the Privacy Act, contact Kitty Wooley, Privacy Act Officer, at (202) 245-6402 or via e-mail at Kitty Wooley@ed.gov.
ED is making certain types of records, created by the agency on or after November 1, 1996, available electronically on the World Wide Web. These electronic "reading room" records consist of: (1) final opinions and orders made in adjudicating cases; (2) final statements of policy and interpretations not published in the Federal Register; (3) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff; (4) copies of previous FOIA requests and responses ED believes are likely to be requested again, (5) the agency's annual FOIA reports to Congress and (6) ED's Records Disposition Schedules.
ED also maintains conventional reading rooms, where paper copies of all the documents mentioned above are available for inspection and copying. The primary ED reading room is at the National Library of Education in the Headquarters Building at 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Plaza Level (Level B), Washington, D.C. 20202. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ED program offices may also maintain conventional reading rooms. Contact the individual program offices for the locations of their conventional reading rooms. Not every program office will maintain records in each reading room category. Also, while the FOIA requires that ED make only the above five categories of records available in its reading rooms, each program office may maintain additional types of records.
- Decisions rendered in the adjudication of administrative cases
- Policy Statements
- Frequently Requested Information includes Department records or information that has been disclosed in response to a FOIA request and has been, or is likely to be, the subject of multiple FOIA requests.
- FOIA Annual Reports
- Other Documents
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW, PCP-9139
ATTN: FOIA Office
Washington, DC 20202-4700
ED's FOIA Officer
Maria-Teresa Cueva (202) 245-6439
FOIA Appeals Coordinator
John Tressler (202) 245-6589
Office of the Secretary
Edgar Mayes (202) 401-2981
Tanya Monroe (202) 401-3514
Office of the Deputy Secretary
Office of the Under Secretary
Brenda Long (202) 205-3697
Office for Civil Rights
Donna Spencer (202) 245-6802
Office of Inspector General
Chaun Eason (202) 245-7001
Office of the General Counsel
J. Carolyn Adams (202) 401-8340
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Melzetta Friday (202) 245-7348
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Kim Rudolph (202) 245-6662
Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs
Theresa Toye (202) 401-1040
Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs
Patrice Taylor (202) 401-1729
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Jack Atkinson (202) 401-2626
OCFO Contracts and Purchasing Operations
LaShawn Pettaway (202) 245-6174
Cynthia Bond (202) 245-6221
OCFO Grants Policy & Oversight Staff
Tonja Lark (202) 245-6160
Lavina Walton (202) 245-6129
Office of Management
Mary Ford (202) 401-0697
Office of Postsecondary Education
Kristina Letourneau (202) 502-7550
Federal Student Aid
Elise Cook 202-377-4004
Crystal Sweet (202) 377-4007
Institute of Education Sciences
Mary Grace Lucier (202) 219-2253
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Laura Kipp (202) 260-1927
Office of Innovation and Improvement
Liza Araujo (202) 260-4008
Paul Edwards (202) 260-2655
Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools
Debbie Kalnasy (202) 260-1926
Office of English Language Acquisition
Patrice Swann (202) 245-7130
Maria Tse (202) 245-7104
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Stephanie Briscoe (202) 245-7801
Region I - Boston
Tom Hibino (617) 223-9667
Michael Sentence (617) 223-9667
FAX (617) 223-9324
Region II - New York
Daniel Cassidy (212) 637-6283
Diane Diggs (212) 637-6335
FAX (212) 264-4427
Region III - Philadelphia
Esther Perry (215) 656-6010
FAX (215)656-6020
Region IV - Atlanta
Philip Weltner (404) 562-6371
FAX (404) 562-6455
Region V - Chicago
Marilyn Teague (312) 886-8217
FAX (312) 353-5147
Region VI - Dallas
Dura C. Wilson (214) 880-3011
Candace A. Hurst (214) 880-2459
FAX (214) 880-2433
Region VII - Kansas City
Donald Jacobsmeyer (816) 268-0402
FAX (816) 891-0578
Region VIII - Denver
David Christensen (303) 844-4562
FAX (303) 844-2524
Region IX - San Francisco
Mary Jane Pearson (415) 556-4120
FAX (415) 437-7783
Region X - Seattle
Donna Foxley (206) 220-7800
Shirley Oliver (206) 220-7946
FAX (206) 220-7806
Metro Region D.C.
Howard Kallem (202) 208-1669
FAX (202) 208-7797
Privacy Act Officer
Chiquitta Thomas
(202) 245-6582
Where do I send my requests/letters?
U.S. Department of Education
Office of the Chief Information Officer
550 12th Street, SW, PCP, 9th Floor, Room 9148
Washington, DC 20202-4750
Attn: FOIA Officer or via e-mail to: OCIO_FOIA@ed.gov
Who is the contact person for FOIA matters?
Angela Arrington
(202) 245-6651
How quickly do you respond to requests?
In 20 working days. However, the release of records may take longer.
Who handles requests for fee waivers?
ED's FOIA Officer has sole authority to grant or deny a fee waiver.
Do you notify the customer if the cost is greater than $25?
Yes, unless the customer indicated in the request the amount he or she was willing to pay.
What is the minimum ED will charge?
ED is directed not to request a check for less than $5.
Do you request the money in advance?
If the charges exceed $250, ED will request payment in advance.
If a customer has a history of non-payment, will you continue to process requests for that customer?
No, if there is a history of non-payment of assessed fees, ED does not continue to provide information to the customer.
Who collects the money for FOIA?
All checks should be made payable to the U.S. Department of Education and directed to the FOIA Office.
Who has the authority in ED to withhold documents (in part/whole)?
The FOIA Officer, the Office of Inspector General and the Regional FOIA Denial Officers have the authority to withhold documents.
Which office in ED handles appeals under FOIA?
All appeals must be directed to:
Deputy Chief Information Officer
400 Maryland Ave. S.W., Room 4E213 FB-6
Washington, D.C. 20202-4110
ATTN: FOIA Appeals
There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request. The regulations and the FOIA
Reform Act set forth three levels of fees, which are to be assessed according
to the categories of the requester, and the intended use of the documents sought.
-
Commercial use requesters are assessed 10 cents per photocopied page with no
pages free. Fees are charged for search, review and redaction at the rate of pay
plus 16% of the employee(s) doing the task. No search or redaction time is provided
without charge.
-
Educational and scientific institutions and news media are charged for photocopying
only (whose purpose is scholarly or scientific research; or a representative of
the news media) with the first 100 pages given without charge. No search or review
time is charged.
- All other requesters are assessed ten cents per photocopied page with 100
pages without charge. Search time is charged at the rate of pay plus 16%, with
the first two hours given without charge. No review time is charged.
If you expect that a fee will be charged, you may request a fee waiver. However,
fee waivers are granted only if a requester can show that the disclosure of the
information is in the public interest because it will contribute significantly
to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government. Requests
for fee waivers should be directed to the FOIA officer.
For all requesters, if the total fee for your request is less than $5, you
will not be charged. You will be notified if your fees exceed $25. If the fees
total more than $250, ED will request payment in advance.
