Page 1

The Secretary’s Annual Freedom 

of Information Act Report 

Fiscal Year 2012 

Privacy, Information, & Records Management 

Services 

Office of Management 

Report to the 

Attorney General of the United States 

for the period of 

October 1, 2011 – September 30, 2012 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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U.S. Department of Education 

FREEDOM INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT 

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT 4

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST 4

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS: 6

1. Agency-specific acronyms or terms used in this Report: 6

2. Basic Terms Used in This Report and in FOIA Training: 10

3. The Nine FOIA Exemptions: 12

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES 13

V. INITIAL FOIA/PA ACCESS REQUESTS: 14

A. Received, Processed, and Pending FOIA/PA Requests: 14

B. Disposition of FOIA/PA Requests – All Processed Requests: 15

C. Disposition of FOIA/PA Requests – Number of Times Exemptions Applied: 17

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA/PA 

REQUESTS: 18

A. Received, Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals 18

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals 18

C.1. Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied. 18

C.2. Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other than Exemptions. 18

C.3. “Other” Reasons for Denial on Appeal – N/A 18

C.4. Response Time for (closed) Administrative Appeals 18

C.5. Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals 18

VII. FOIA/PA REQUESTS: Response Time for Processed and Pending 

 Requests 19

A. Processed Requests – Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests 19
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information 

Was Granted 20

C.1. Processed Requests – Response Time in (Business) Day Increments: Simple 

Requests 21

C.2. Processed Requests – Response Time in (Business) Day Increments: Complex 

Requests 22

C.3. Processed Requests – Response Time in (Business) Day Increments: Requests 

Granted Expedited Processing 23

C.4. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests 24

C.5. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests 25

VII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE 

WAIVER 27

A. Requests for Expedited Processing* 27

B. Requests for Fee Waiver* 28

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS 29

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS* 30

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS 30

XII BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS 31

A. Backlogs of FOIA/PA Requests and Administrative Appeals 31

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending 

Consultations 32

C. Consultation on FOIA/PA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from 

Other Agencies and Pending at The Department of Education 32

D.1. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report –

Requests Received and Processed 33

D.2. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report –

Requests Backlogged 34

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current 

Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged 35

F. Discussion of Other Department of Education FOIA Activities 35
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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U.S. Department of Education 

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT 

1. The person to contact with questions about this report is: 

Gregory Smith, Director, FOIA Service Center 

Privacy, Information & Records Management Services 

Office of Management 

United States Department of Education 

400 Maryland Ave, SW, LBJ 2E305 

Washington, DC 20202-4503 

2. The Internet address for this report on the World Wide Web (www) is: 

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html. 

3. To obtain a copy of this report in paper form contact the person identified in #1 

above. 

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST 

1. Names, Addresses, and Contact Numbers for ED FOIA Officers, FOIA Liaisons, 

and Regional FOIA Coordinators. FOIA requests should be submitted directly to 

the FOIA Requester Service Center or, if known, to the Regional FOIA 

Coordinators. 

Chief FOIA Officer 

Winona H. Varnon, (202) 401-1583 

 

FOIA Requester Service Center 

U.S. Department of Education 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW, 

LBJ 2E313 

Washington, DC 20202-4503 

(202) 401-8365 

FOIA Appeals Coordinator:

Robert Wehausen 

FOIA Public Liaisons 

Elise Cook 

Maria-Teresa Cueva 

Linda Darby 

Christie Swafford 

Robert Wehausen

Privacy Act Officer: Angela 

Arrington 

Region I: OCR Boston Office 

 FOIA Coordinator; McCormack Post Office & Courthouse, Boston, MA 

 02109; (617) 289-0013 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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Region II: OCR New York Office 

FOIA Coordinator; 75 Park Place, New York, NY 10007; (646) 428-

3811 

Region III: OCR Philadelphia Office 

FOIA Coordinator; 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107; 

(215) 656-8557 

Region IV: OCR Atlanta Office

FOIA Coordinator; 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303; (404) 

562-6357

Region V: OCR Chicago Office 

FOIA Coordinator; 111 North Canal Street, Chicago, IL 60606; (312) 

730-1610 

Region VI: OCR Dallas Office

FOIA Coordinator; 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201; (214) 661-

9623

Region VII: OCR Kansas City Office 

FOIA Coordinator; 10220 N. Executive Hills Boulevard, Kansas City, 

MO 64153; (816) 268-0594 

Region VIII: OCR Denver Office 

 FOIA Coordinator; 1244 Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80204; (303) 

844-5942 

Region IX: OCR San Francisco Office 

 FOIA Coordinator; 50 United Nations Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94102; 

(415) 486-5507 

Region X: OCR Seattle Office 

 FOIA Coordinator; 915 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174; (206) 220-

7946 

Metro Region: OCR District of Columbia Office 

FOIA Coordinator; P.O. Box 14620; Washington, D.C. 20044-4620; 

(202) 786-0521 

Region XII: OCR Cleveland Office 

FOIA Coordinator; 600 Superior Avenue East, Suite 750, Cleveland, 

OH 4114-2611; (216) 522-4468 

2. Information on how to make a FOIA Request and on how to make a Privacy Act 

request is available from the ED FOIA website: Responsive records are released in 

their entirety unless release is precluded on the basis of nine statutory exemptions, 

as specified in the FOIA. In general, as a regulatory agency, some investigative 

records or portions of records are not released. In addition, if records are part of an 

ongoing investigation or involved with litigation they may not be released or they may 

be partially released. Personally identifiable information is also not released to 

anyone except to the individual to whom it applies. Certain information contained in 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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grants and contracts is withheld such as non-federal funding amounts and sources, 

business proposals, and technical information that is unique to the submitter and falls 

within protected business information. 

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS: 

1. Agency-specific acronyms or terms used in this Report: 

a. The Department: Congress established the U.S. Department of 

Education (ED) on May 4, 1980, in the Department of Education 

Organization Act (Public Law 96-88 of October 1979). Under this law, ED's 

mission is to: Strengthen the Federal commitment to assuring access to 

equal educational opportunity for every individual; Supplement and 

complement the efforts of states, the local school systems and other 

instrumentalities of the states, the private sector, public and private 

nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based 

organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education; 

Encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students 

in Federal education programs; Promote improvements in the quality and 

usefulness of education through Federally supported research, evaluation, 

and sharing of information; Improve the coordination of Federal education 

programs; Improve the management of Federal education activities; and, 

Increase the accountability of Federal education programs to the 

President, the Congress, and the public. 

b. Principal Offices (POs) - In FY2012, ED had the following program offices and/or 

processing designations: 

 FSA Federal Student Aid

 IES Institute of Education Science 

 IES-NAGB National Assessment Governing Board 

 M Multiple Offices (more than one office is assigned to request) 

 OCFO Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

 OCFO-CAM Contracts and Acquisitions Management 

 OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer 

 OCO Office of Communications and Outreach 

 OCR Office for Civil Rights (Headquarters) 

 Office for Civil Rights (Regional Enforcement Offices) 

o OCR Boston Office (Region I) 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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o OCR New York Office (Region II) 

o OCR Philadelphia Office (Region III)

o OCR Atlanta Office (Region IV) 

o OCR Chicago Office (Region V)

o OCR Dallas Office (Region VI) 

o OCR Kansas City Office (Region VII) 

o OCR Denver Office (Region VIII) 

o OCR San Francisco Office (Region IX) 

o OCR Seattle Office (Region X) 

o OCR District of Columbia Office (Metro Region XI) 

o OCR Cleveland Officer (Region XII) 

 ODS Office of the Deputy Secretary 

 OELA Office of English Language Acquisition, Language 

Enhancement,and Academic Achievements for Limited English 

Proficient Students

 OESE Office of Elementary and Secondary Education 

 OGC Office of the General Counsel 

 OIG Office of Inspector General

 OII Office of Innovation and Improvement

 OLCA Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs 

 OM Office of Management 

 OM-PIRMS Privacy Information & Records Management 

Services 

 OPE Office of Postsecondary Education 

 OPEPD Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development 

 OS Office of the Secretary 

 OSDFS Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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 OSERS Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

 OUS Office of the Under Secretary 

 OVAE Office of Vocational and Adult Education 

c. Calendar Day – Every day shown on a calendar. A 24-hour period 

beginning at 12:01 a.m. and ending at 12:00 p.m. midnight. 

d. Fees – an agency will charge processing fees based on how the 

documents will be used and not on the category of the FOIA 

requester. All fees allowed will be charged to the first requester, when 

there are multiple requesters for the same documents, and, unless 

waived, all subsequent requesters will be charged duplication and special 

services fees only. If a fee is not allowed by statute or regulation to be 

charged to the first requester, the fee cannot be passed on to the next 

subsequent requester. 

e. First-In-First-Out (FIFO) Processing Policy – an agency will process 

requests in the order in which requests are received consistent with a 

multi-track processing system and reasonable allocation of processing 

resources available for each track and the FOIA program of the agency. 

f. FOIA/PA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request or access to 

records concerning a third party, an organization, or a particular topic of 

interest. A Privacy Act request is a request for records concerning oneself; 

such requests are also treated as FOIA requests. (All requests for access 

to records, regardless of which law is cited by the requester, are included 

in this report.) 

g. Glomar Response – a Glomar response neither confirms nor denies the 

existence or non-existence of responsive records to a request in order to 

protect law enforcement, privacy, or other appropriate interests. 

h. Initial Denial Authority – agency official who is delegated the authority to 

make release determinations of documents and information contained in 

documents requested under the FOIA on behalf of the agency. 

i. Initial Request – a request to a federal agency for access to records 

under the Freedom of Information Act. 

j. Perjury Statement – a signed (notarization is not required) statement 

executed under the penalty of law, usually associated with a request for 

the personal records of the requester, attesting that they are the individual 

who they say they are. 
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k. Proper Request – a request that fits the definition of a FOIA request: 

reasonably describes the agency records being sought and cites a 

willingness to pay assessable fees or justifies the granting of a fee waiver. 

Proper requests do not use federal government resources in making the 

request – federal government requests for agency documents for official 

purposes are not FOIA requests. 

l. Reasonably Described – a request is reasonably described if it enables a 

professional agency employee familiar with the subject area to locate the 

record with a reasonable amount of effort. An appeal is reasonably 

described if it adequately describes the action taken by the agency 

regarding the request and the basis on why the action is not in compliance 

with the statute or agency regulation. 

m. Referral – transferring a FOIA request and/or document(s) that are under 

another agency’s purview to another entity for processing. This also 

includes redirecting a requester to the appropriate agency instead of 

referring the request. 

n. Release – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to 

a FOIA request. This sometimes is referred to as a “grant.”

o. Remanded – a request that is returned to the initial denial authority for 

reconsideration of their release determination and further processing. 

p. Request Disposition – an agency determination to take one of four 

actions on requests for records: 

i. Responsive records are released in full. 

ii. Responsive records are released in part because some of the 

information in the requested records is determined by the agency to 

be exempt under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions. 

iii. Responsive records are denied in full because all of the information in 

the requested records is determined by the agency to be exempt under 

one or more of the FOIA exemptions. 

iv. Determined by the agency not to process for other procedural reasons: 

(1) No Records – After a thorough search of agency records, no 

records were found to be responsive to the FOIA request or 

within the scope of the FOIA request. 

(2) Duplicate Request – The request is a duplicate of a 

previously submitted request by the same requester or 

organization represented by the requester. 
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(3) Fee Related – Request is not processed because there were 

fee issues. For example, the requester was not willing to 

pay assessable FOIA processing fees or the requester had 

delinquent fees from previous FOIA requests. 

(4) Request Withdrawn – Requester withdraws their request. 

(5) Not Reasonably Described – sufficient information has not 

been provided for a professional agency employee familiar 

with the subject area to locate the record with a reasonable 

amount of effort. 

(6) Not a Proper Request – the requester is asking questions 

posing as a FOIA request or a response would require the 

agency to create a record. 

(7) Not an Agency Record – Documents requested in a FOIA 

request that are not maintained, or possibly originated, by 

the Department or its components. 

(8) Referred to an Appropriate Agency – request for records that 

are not held by a Department agency and are more likely the 

documents of some other federal agency other than the 

Department. 

q. Working Days – days except Saturdays, Sundays, and federally 

recognized public holidays. 

2. Basic Terms Used in This Report and in FOIA Training: 

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it 

review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the 

agency at the initial request level. 

b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group 

of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, 

and 14, the average number is 8. 

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are 

pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the 

statutory time period for a response. 

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized 

basis, a component is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an office, 

division, bureau, center, or directorate, within the agency that processes 

FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their 

Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each 

principal component of the agency. 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA 

request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because 

that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in 

receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds 

back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then 

respond to the FOIA requester. 

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from 

disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under 

subsection (b) (3) of the FOIA. 

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal 

agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a third-party 

request) or concerning an organization or a particular topic of interest. 

FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records 

concerning themselves (i.e., first-party requests) when those requesters 

are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, 

because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both 

the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, 

FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency 

determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act systems of records 

or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA 

to afford the greatest possible access. All requests that require the 

agency to use the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this 

report. Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the 

agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, 

however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation 

from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section 

XII of this report.) 

h. Full Grant – an agency determination to disclose all records in full in 

response to a FOIA request. 

i. Full Denial – an agency determination not to release any records in 

response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their 

entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions or because of a 

procedural reason such as when no records could be located. 

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, 

and 14, the median number is 7. 

k. Multi-track Processing – a system in which simple requests requiring 

relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more 

voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. 

Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. 

Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first-out basis. The 

tracks are: 
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i. Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA request 

on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements 

for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency 

regulations. 

ii. Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track 

processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the 

low volume and/or simplicity of records requested. 

iii. Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multitrack processing places in a slower track based on the high volume 

and/or complexity of records requested. 

l. Partial Grant / Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency 

determination to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other 

portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of 

the request for a procedural reason. 

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or 

administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all 

respects. 

n. Perfected Request – a request for records that reasonably describes 

such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the 

time, place, fees (if any), and procedures to be followed. 

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – action on 

the request or the appeal in all respects has been completed. 

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to 

process requests or administrative appeals. 

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a 

FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected 

FOIA request). 

3. The Nine FOIA Exemptions: 

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations 

information 

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices 

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another 

federal law 

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information 

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are 

protected by legal privileges 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy 

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement 

purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could 

reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) 

would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, 

(C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity 

of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for 

law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose 

guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could 

reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any 

individual 

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial 

institutions 

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells 

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES 

Statute Type of Information Case Citation

Number of Times 

Relied Upon per 

Component

Total 

Number 

of Times 

Relied 

upon by 

Agency

41 U.S.C. § 

4702(b)

Prohibition on Release 

of Contractor Proposals 

that have not been set 

forth or incorporated by 

reference into contract.

Margolin v. NASA, No. 09-

CV-00421-LRH-VPC, 

2011 WL 1303221 at 

*6(D.Nev.Mar. 31, 2011); 

Hornbostel v DOI, 305 F 

Supp. 2d 21,30 (D.D.C. 

2003)summary affirmance 

granted No. 035257, 2004 

WL 1900562 (D.C.C. Aug 

25, 2004)

FSA: 7

M: 1 8

5 U.S.C. § 571 Communications 

relating to proceedings n/a

OCR- Boston: 1 

OCR- San Francisco: 

1

2

44 U.S.C. § 

3541

Security controls over 

information resources 

supporting Federal 

operations and 

systems

n/a FSA: 1

M: 1

2
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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V. INITIAL FOIA/PA ACCESS REQUESTS: 

A. Received, Processed, and Pending FOIA/PA Requests: 

Component Offices

Number of 

Requests 

Pending 

as of Start 

of FY 2012

Number 

of 

Requests 

Received 

in FY 

2012

Number of 

Requests 

Processed 

in FY 2012

Pending

End of FY 

2012

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 35 335 328 42

IES 5 35 38 2

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0

OCFO 3 8 9 2

M 65 118 138 45

OCFO - CAM 23 64 80 7

OCIO 1 3 3 1

OCO 2 5 6 1

OCR 8 100 101 7

ODS 3 5 8 0

OELA 3 3 6 0

OESE 10 78 79 9

OGC 6 7 12 1

OIG 8 62 63 7

OII 8 36 43 1

OLCA 5 3 7 1

OM 10 48 50 8

OM-PIRMS 86 43 59 40

OPE 21 158 157 22

OPEPD 4 4 4 4

OS 36 27 40 23

OSDFS 4 4 8 0

OSERS 16 29 43 2

OUS 1 8 9 0

OVAE 0 5 5 0

OCR Field Office

Boston 30 147 153 24

New York 38 165 162 41

Philadelphia 8 75 82 1

Atlanta 6 77 66 17

Chicago 9 131 135 5

Dallas 7 82 81 8

Kansas City 5 28 24 9

Denver 5 49 52 2

San Francisco 2 76 75 3

Seattle 1 113 109 5

District of Columbia 15 74 74 15

Cleveland 0 41 37 4

ED Totals 459 2,246 2,346 359

The number of pending requests at the start of FY12 does not match the number of pending requests at 

the end of FY11 as reported in the previous year’s Annual Report. More accurate reporting methods 

were used in FY12, which resulted in different number of pending requests. 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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B. Disposition of FOIA/PA Requests – All Processed Requests: 

Component Offices

Number of Full Grants

Number of Partial 

Grants / Partial Denials

Number of Full Denials 

Based on Exemptions

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than 

Exemptions

TOTAL

No Records 

Referred to 

Another Agency

Request 

Withdrawn

Fee-Related 

Reason

Not Reasonably 

Described

Improper for 

Other Reason

Not Agency 

Record

Duplicate 

Request

Other 

*Explain below

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 170 61 2 54 2 16 2 2 2 11 6 0 328

IES 4 28 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 38

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M 25 55 0 27 2 21 0 1 1 3 1 2 138

OCFO 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

OCFO – CAM 36 36 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 80

OCIO 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

OCO 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

OCR 19 64 2 6 0 3 0 0 1 2 4 0 101

ODS 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8

OELA 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

OESE 9 48 0 15 0 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 79

OGC 2 4 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12

OIG 7 19 12 19 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 63

OII 11 25 0 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 43

OLCA 3 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

OM 11 26 1 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 50

OM–PIRMS 22 16 0 1 0 11 0 1 1 7 0 0 59

OPE 23 113 0 10 1 6 0 1 1 7 0 0 157

OPEPD 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

OS 13 21 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 40

OSDFS 1 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8

OSERS 19 20 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43

OUS 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

OVAE 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5

OCR Field Offices

Boston 11 119 8 5 0 3 0 0 0 1 6 0 153

New York 55 77 9 5 0 7 0 0 5 0 4 0 162

Philadelphia 10 63 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 82

Atlanta 17 36 7 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 66

Chicago 76 41 1 6 0 9 0 1 1 0 0 0 135

Dallas 30 34 11 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 81

Kansas City 4 13 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24

Denver 5 21 16 4 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 2 52

San Francisco 26 38 5 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 75

Seattle 16 83 0 9 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 109

District of Columbia 8 42 9 2 0 11 0 0 0 0 1 1 74

Cleveland 16 10 4 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 37

ED TOTAL 672 1,134 96 211 9 122 4 10 13 29 40 6 2,346
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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V.B.(2). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- "OTHER" REASONS FOR "FULL 

DENIALS BASED ON REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS" 

Component Description of “Other” Reasons for Denials from Chart B (1) Number of 

Times “Other 

Reason Was 

Relied Upon

Component 

Total

M Documents request were for litigation, judge dismissed case and need for 

documents

2 2

OCR-Denver Glomar Response 1 1

OCR-Cleveland Glomar Responses 2 2

OCR-Metro Glomar Response 1 1

Agency Overall 6
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

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C. Disposition of FOIA/PA Requests – Number of Times Exemptions Applied: 

Component Offices Exemption

1 2 3 4 5 6 7a 7b 7c 7d 7e 7f 8/9

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 0 2 8 15 23 43 1 0 0 1 4 0 0

IES 0 0 0 19 1 25 0 0 3 0 0 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M 0 1 2 10 21 42 0 0 5 0 0 0 0

OCFO 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCFO – CAM 0 0 0 29 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCIO 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCO 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR 0 1 0 1 8 28 8 0 52 0 0 0 0

ODS 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OELA 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OESE 0 0 0 26 9 46 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

OGC 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OIG 0 1 0 1 4 15 3 0 2 0 0 0 0

OII 0 0 0 15 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OLCA 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OM 0 0 0 1 0 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OM-PIRMS 0 1 0 18 4 42 1 0 4 0 0 0 0

OPE 0 0 0 88 3 95 1 0 4 0 0 0 0

OPEPD 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OS 0 0 0 1 3 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OSDFS 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OSERS 0 0 0 11 2 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OUS 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OVAE 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Offices

Boston 0 0 1 1 12 9 15 0 102 0 0 0 0

New York 0 1 0 0 1 8 14 5 44 0 1 0 0

Philadelphia 0 1 0 0 5 1 4 0 49 0 0 0 0

Atlanta 0 0 0 0 3 1 6 0 1 1 0 0 0

Chicago 0 0 0 0 3 3 19 0 4 0 0 0 0

Dallas 0 0 0 1 1 3 3 0 5 0 0 0 0

Kansas City 0 0 0 0 4 2 7 0 5 0 0 0 0

Denver 0 6 0 0 12 30 8 0 1 0 0 0 0

San Francisco 0 0 1 0 5 42 1 0 4 0 0 0 0

Seattle 0 0 0 0 8 2 31 0 80 0 0 0 0

District of Columbia 0 0 0 0 8 3 5 0 52 0 0 0 0

Cleveland 0 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 9 0 0 0 0

ED TOTAL 0 14 12 246 150 570 133 5 427 2 11 0 0
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 18

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF 

FOIA/PA REQUESTS: 

A. Received, Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals 

Component

Number of Appeals 

Pending at Start of FY 

2011

Number of Appeals 

Received in FY 2011

Number of Appeals 

Processed in FY 

2011

Number of Appeals 

Pending as of End 

of FY 2011

OM-PIRMS 41 25 34 32

The number of pending appeals at the start of FY12 does not match the number of pending appeals at 

the end of FY11 as reported in the previous year’s Annual Report. More accurate reporting methods 

were used in FY12, which resulted in different number of pending appeals.

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals 

Component

Number of (initial 

determinations) 

Affirmed on 

Appeal

Number of (initial 

determinations) 

Partially Affirmed & 

Partially 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal

Number of (initial 

determinations) 

Completely 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal

Number of 

Appeals 

Closed for 

Other 

Reasons

Total

OM-PIRMS 18 7 4 5 34

C.1. Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied. 

EX 

1

EX 

2

EX 

3

EX 

4

EX 

5

EX 

6

EX 

7(A)

EX 

7(B)

EX 

7(C)

EX 

7(D)

EX 

7(E)

EX 

7(F)

EX 

8

EX 

9

0 1 0 1 4 8 4 0 13 0 1 0 0 0

C.2. Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other than Exemptions. 

No 

records

Records 

Referred 

at Initial 

Request 

Level

Request 

Withdrawn

FeeRelated 

Reason

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described

Improper 

Request 

for Other 

Reasons

Not 

Agency 

Record

Duplicate 

Request 

or 

Appeal

Request 

in 

Litigation

Appeal 

Based 

Solely on 

Denial of 

Request 

for 

Expedited 

Processing

Other 

*Explain 

in chart 

below

2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

C.3. “Other” Reasons for Denial on Appeal – N/A 

Component Description of “Other” Reason for Denial on Appeal from Chart 

C(2) 

Number of 

Times “Other” 

Relied Upon

Component 

Total

OM-PIRMS Actions completed, documents can now be released. Appeal 

Moot. 0 0

C.4. Response Time for (closed) Administrative Appeals 

Number of Business Days

Median Average Lowest Highest

230 268 12 729

C.5. Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals 

10th

Oldest 

Appeal

9

th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Appeal

Date of 

Receipt of 

Ten 

Oldest 

Appeals 12/15/2010 11/26/2010

11/17/

2010 10/28/2010 2/2/2010

11/17/

2009

11/9/

2009 10/30/2009

5/7/

2009

5/5/

2009

Number of 

(business) 

Days 

Pending 468 481 488 502 694 749 755 761 887 889
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 19

VII. FOIA/PA REQUESTS: Response Time for Processed and Pending 

Requests 

A. Processed Requests – Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests 

Component 

Offices

SIMPLE –

Number of Business Days

COMPLEX –

Number of Business Days

EXPEDITED –

Number of Business Days

Media

n

Averag

e

Lowes

t

Highe

st

Media

n

Average Lowe

st

Highe

st

Media

n

Averag

e

Lowes

t

Highest

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 32 38.7 1 343 39.5 84.84 1 424 32 32 32 32

IES 29 38.87 0 160 44 98.71 26 267 0 0 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCFO 31 39.33 15 72 131 141.5 10 299 0 0 0 0

M 39 114.93 0 730 107.5 151.52 4 23 85.5 119.5 44 263

OCFO – CAM 30.5 45 5 205 116.5 140.2 37 422 0 0 0 0

OCIO 0 0 0 0 52 52.33 30 75 0 0 0 0

OCO 75 75 75 75 206 219.4 37 583 0 0 0 0

OCR 25 25.42 0 102 53 66.78 0 240 0 0 0 0

ODS 26 122.6 2 547 294 240.66 14 414 0 0 0 0

OELA 24 19.2 6 27 279 279 279 279 0 0 0 0

OESE 29.5 35.6 3 130 61 119.63 18 684 0 0 0 0

OGC 72 76.66 49 100 277 274.44 15 850 0 0 0 0

OIG 13 18.15 0 261 161 145.83 10 300 0 0 0 0

OII 27.5 18.4 3 58 52 125.61 6 297 0 0 0 0

OLCA 33 33 33 33 123 112.33 36 152 0 0 0 0

OM 21 24.48 0 150 66 80.63 5 334 0 0 0 0

OM-PIRMS 9 33.56 8 366 161 186.83 8 376 0 0 0 0

OPE 28 30.07 3 150 58 86.23 12 347 0 0 0 0

OPEPD 52 52 52 52 349 392 273 556 0 0 0 0

OS 602 395 9 724 151 183.8 49 635 123 122.33 108 136

OSDFS 20.5 31.5 8 93 135.5 135.5 131 140 0 0 0 0

OSERS 28.5 26.1 7 51 49 67.61 21 228 0 0 0 0

OUS 46 46 43 48 46.5 151 45 466 0 0 0 0

OVAE 18 21.8 14 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Offices

Boston 29.5 64.27 1 674 107 197.3 44 634 0 0 0 0

New York 19 52.83 0 438 182 200.67 17 663 0 0 0 0

Philadelphia 9 9.9 0 30 30 64.22 14 264 10 10 0 20

Atlanta 16.5 27.31 0 185 21 39 11 89 0 0 0 0

Chicago 18 14.7 0 28 20 20 20 20 0 0 0 0

Dallas 19 18.85 0 43 19 21.47 0 63 0 0 0 0

Kansas City 18 33.65 1 147 227 227 227 227 0 0 0 0

Denver 7 9.65 0 29 3 7 3 15 0 0 0 0

San Francisco 3 6.54 0 26 9 11.63 3 30 0 0 0 0

Seattle 6 7.91 0 59 47 463/ 3 53 0 0 0 0

District of Columbia 10.5 18.27 1 98 74.5 110.13 5 325 0 0 0 0

Cleveland 17 15.39 1 39 25 66.75 18 199 0 0 0 0

ED Totals 19 35.71 0 724 63 108 0 684 81.5 91.8 0 263
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 20

B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which 

Information Was Granted 

Component 

Offices

SIMPLE –

Number of Business Days

COMPLEX –

Number of Business Days

EXPEDITED –

Number of Business Days

Media

n

Averag

e

Lowe

st

Highe

st

Media

n

Average Low

est

Highe

st

Media

n

Averag

e

Lowes

t

Highest

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 32 38.76 1 343 70 91.9 7 360 32 32 32 32

IES 32 42.68 5 160 44 98.71 26 267 0 0 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M 31 114.93 0 730 154.5 177.3 4 523 55 71.66 44 116

OCFO 31 39.33 15 72 198 167.8 39 299 0 0 0 0

OCFO – CAM 33 46.66 5 205 108.5 140.29 37 442 0 0 0 0

OCIO 0 0 0 0 52 52.33 30 75 0 0 0 0

OCO 75 75 75 75 230 284.66 41 583 0 0 0 0

OCR 26.5 26.1 0 70 53 64.56 12 240 0 0 0 0

ODS 26 193 6 547 214 214 14 414 0 0 0 0

OELA 24.5 22.5 14 27 279 279 279 279 0 0 0 0

OESE 32 39.65 7 130 53 110.29 18 684 0 0 0 0

OGC 72 72 72 72 169 188.4 38 425 0 0 0 0

OIG 7.5 8.56 5 43 161 144 10 281 0 0 0 0

OII 27 26.64 3 58 95 143.9 16 283 0 0 0 0

OLCA 33 33 33 33 111 92 36 129 0 0 0 0

OM 53 65.42 2 105 66 68.26 5 193 0 0 0 0

OM-PIRMS 19.5 41.12 0 366 94 126.42 8 374 0 0 0 0

OPE 30 35.08 5 109 62 84.08 15 280 0 0 0 0

OPEPD 52 52 52 52 311 311 279 349 0 0 0 0

OS 103 229.28 9 635 143.5 153.04 49 615 123 122.33 108 136

OSDFS 19 33.4 8 93 135.5 135.5 131 140 0 0 0 0

OSERS 28.5 26.1 7 51 49 51.78 21 208 0 0 0 0

OUS 46 45.75 43 46 257 257 48 466 0 0 0 0

OVAE 22 23.75 18 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Offices

Boston 31 59.89 1 674 145 218 44 634 0 0 0 0

New York 19 52.82 0 438 182 230.36 17 663 0 0 0 0

Philadelphia 9 9.9 0 30 30 64.22 14 264 10 10 0 20

Atlanta 22 31.95 0 185 23 44.6 15 86 0 0 0 0

Chicago 18 15.03 0 23 20 20 20 20 0 0 0 0

Dallas 19 19.47 3 43 20 23.3 5 63 0 0 0 0

Kansas City 20 23.4 1 147 227 227 227 227 0 0 0 0

Denver 15 13.92 3 28 15 15 15 15 0 0 0 0

San Francisco 3 6.76 0 26 23.5 19.94 3 30 0 0 0 0

Seattle 6 8 0 26 14 13.8 3 53 0 0 0 0

District of Columbia 14 21.2 2 98 82 177.16 28 325 0 0 0 0

Cleveland 17.5 17.45 1 29 25 66.75 18 199 0 0 0 0

ED Totals 20 34.75 0 678 65.5 108 0 684 55 72.77 0 263
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 21

C.1. Processed Requests – Response Time in (Business) Day Increments: Simple 

Requests

Component 

Offices 1-20 21-40

41-

60

61-

80

81-

100

101-

120

121-

140

141-

160

161-

180

181-

200

201-

300

301-

400

401

+

TOTAL

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 65 81 50 10 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 220

IES 7 14 6 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 31

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M 11 7 2 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 30

OCFO 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

OCFO – CAM 13 14 7 7 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 46

OCIO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

OCR 32 27 11 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 73

ODS 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5

OELA 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

OESE 19 21 11 5 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 60

OGC 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

OIG 41 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 51

OII 13 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30

OLCA 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

OM 15 11 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31

OM-PIRMS 28 5 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 42

OPE 34 59 20 3 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 127

OPEPD 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

OS 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 11

OSDFS 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

OSERS 6 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22

OUS 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

OVAE 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

OCR Field Offices

Boston 51 30 14 17 10 5 3 0 0 1 3 2 4 140

New York 76 25 16 6 4 2 3 1 0 2 7 3 2 147

Philadelphia 65 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 71

Atlanta 34 11 10 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 60

Chicago 120 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 134

Dallas 32 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47

Kansas City 13 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 23

Denver 46 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49

San 

Francisco 48 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 53

Seattle 59 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60

District of 

Columbia 29 11 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44

Cleveland 28 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33

ED Totals 897 415 172 65 34 20 12 10 2 5 14 7 17 1,670
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 22

C.2. Processed Requests – Response Time in (Business) Day Increments: 

Complex Requests

Component Offices 1-20 21-

40

41-

60

61-

80

81-

100

101-

120

121-

140

141-

160

161-

180

181-

200

201-

300

301-

400

401

+

TOTAL

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 9 24 21 12 10 5 8 3 2 5 5 2 1 107

IES 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 7

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

M 7 12 11 12 9 5 4 5 8 2 14 7 8 104

OCFO 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 6

OCFO – CAM 0 1 3 5 6 3 2 6 0 0 7 0 1 34

OCIO 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

OCO 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 5

OCR 4 6 6 6 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 28

ODS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3

OELA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

OESE 2 2 5 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 19

OGC 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 9

OIG 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 12

OII 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 13

OLCA 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 6

OM 3 3 4 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 17

OM-PIRMS 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 5 1 17

OPE 5 6 4 5 2 1 1 2 0 0 3 1 0 30

OPEPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3

OS 0 0 2 2 1 4 3 3 2 3 3 0 3 26

OSDFS 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

OSERS 5 12 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 21

OUS 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4

OVAE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Offices

Boston 0 0 2 0 3 2 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 13

New York 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 5 0 2 15

Philadelphia 2 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9

Atlanta 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

Chicago 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Dallas 22 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34

Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

Denver 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

San 

Francisco

20 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22

Seattle 47 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47

District of 

Columbia

1 4 9 1 3 2 1 2 1 0 5 1 0 30

Cleveland 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4

ED Totals 147 98 82 58 45 27 30 28 19 16 68 22 24 664
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 23

C.3. Processed Requests – Response Time in (Business) Day Increments: Requests 

Granted Expedited Processing 

Component Offices 1-

20

21-

40

41-

60

61-

80

81-

100

101-

120

121-

140

141-

160

161-

180

181-

200

201-

300

301-

400

401

+

TOTAL

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

IES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4

OCFO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCFO – CAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCIO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M

OELA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OESE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OGC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OIG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OII 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OLCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OM 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

OM-PIRMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OPE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OPEPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OS 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

OSDFS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OSERS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OUS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OVAE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Offices

Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Philadelphia 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Chicago 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Dallas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Denver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

San Francisco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Seattle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

District of 

Columbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ED Totals 4 0 3 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 12
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 24

C.4. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests 

Component Offices

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED

Number 

Pending

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Number 

Pending

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Number 

Pending

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 28 31 30 14 26 31 0 0 0

IES 0 0 0 2 5 5 0 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

M 5 22 22 40 47 100 0 0 0

OCFO 2 43 43 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCFO – CAM 4 39 67 3 49 77 0 0 0

OCIO 1 25 25 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCO 1 119 119 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR 3 17 16 4 14 108 0 0 0

ODS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OELA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OESE 3 72 56 6 78 105 0 0 0

OGC 1 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

OIG 4 45 47 3 119 179 0 0 0

OII 0 0 0 1 83 83 0 0 0

OLCA 1 35 35 0 0 0 0 0 0

OM 4 11 15 4 29 29 0 0 0

OM-PIRMS 17 58 64 21 85 107 2 197 197

OPE 9 22 32 13 66 72 0 0 0

OPEPD 2 17 17 2 26 26 0 0 0

OS 4 83 222 19 395 319 0 0 0

OSDFS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OSERS 1 180 180 1 4 4 0 0 0

OUS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OVAE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Regional Offices

Boston 24 61 63 0 0 0 0 0 0

New York 33 40 59 8 89 99 0 0 0

Philadelphia 0 0 0 1 236 236 0 0 0

Atlanta 15 33 45 2 162 162 0 0 0

Chicago 5 8 10 0 0 0 0 0 0

Dallas 3 19 22 5 9 11 0 0 0

Kansas City 4 107 98 5 108 123 0 0 0

Denver 1 7 7 1 10 10 0 0 0

San Francisco 2 10 10 1 7 7 0 0 0

Seattle 0 0 0 5 6 6 0 0 0

District of Columbia 8 30 30 7 126 125 0 0 0

Cleveland 3 80 63 1 30 30 0 0 0

ED Totals 188 33 37 169 48 56 2 197 197
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 25

C.5. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests 

Component 

Offices

10th

Oldest 

Request 

and 

number 

of Days 

Pending

9

th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd

Oldest 

Request 

and 

Number of 

Days 

Pending

IES - NAGBED Headquarters Offices

FSA 7/31/12

44

7/26/12

47

7/26/12

47

7/26/12

47

7/20/12

51

7/18/12

53

7/13/12

56

7/5/12

62

6/18/12

75

5/1/12

109

IES N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/25/12

4

9/24/12

5

IES –

NAGB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

M

5/2/12

108

4/10/12

124

4/5/12

127

4/4/12

128

3/14/12

143

12/14/11

208

12/9/11

211

7/26/10

570

7/6/10

584

8/3/09

825

OCFO N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

8/15/12

33

7/19/12

52

OCFO –

CAM N/A N/A N/A

9/19/12

8

8/16/12

32

8/9/12

33

8/6/12

40

7/24/12

49

2/23/12

157

1/31/12

174

OCIO N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

8/27/12

25

OCO N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

4/17/12

119

OCR N/A N/A N/A

9/28/12

1

9/20/12

7

9/14/12

11

9/6/12

17

9/6/12

17

8/20/12

30

3/25/11

396

ODS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

OELA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

OESE N/A

9/26/12

3

9/17/12

10

9/4/12

19

7/31/12

44

6/21/12

72

5/23/12

93

4/27/12

111

1/30/12

175

9/15/12

272

OGC N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/20/12

7

OIG N/A N/A N/A

9/4/12

19

8/28/12

23

8/6/12

40

7/23/12

50

6/13/12

78

4/17/12

119

3/29/11

394

OII N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

6/6/12

83

OLCA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

8/13/12

35

OM N/A N/A

9/28/12

1

9/26/12

3

9/19/12

8

9/11/12

14

9/4/12

19

8/10/12

36

8/7/12

39

7/10/12

59

OMPIRMS

4/3/12

129

3/20/12

139

3/6/12

149

2/1/12

173

1/25/12

178

1/5/12

192

12/22/11

202

11/4/11

236

8/4/11

297

7/26/11

309

OPE 7/19/12

52

6/29/12

66

6/29/12

66

6/19/12

74

5/11/12

101

5/11/12

101

5/8/12

104

5/1/12

109

3/20/12

139

11/2/12

238

OPEPD N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/13/12

12

9/6/12

17

8/30/12

22

8/14/12

34

OS 3/28/11

395

3/28/11

395

3/28/12

395

2/23/11

418

1/3/11

455

11/15/10

490

10/18/10

510

9/7/10

539

8/30/10

545

2/24/10

678

OSDFS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

OSERS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/25/12

4

1/23/12

180

OUS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

OVAE N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 26

C.5. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests 

(Continued) 

Component 

Offices

10th

Oldest 

Request 

and 

number of 

Days 

Pending

9

th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd

Oldest 

Request and 

Number of 

Days 

Pending

OCR Regional Offices

Boston 6/4/12

85

6/1/12

86

5/25/12

91

5/24/12

92

5/16/12

98

5/7/12

105

4/24/12

114

4/23/12

115

3/19/12

140

1/6/12

191

New York 4/19/12

117

4/12/12

122

3/27/12

134

3/21/12

138

2/27/12

155

2/14/12

164

2/14/12

164

1/27/12

176

12/7/11

213

10/11/11

254

Philadelphia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

11/04/11

236

Atlanta 8/15/12

33

8/15/12

33

8/1/12

43

7/30/12

45

6/14/12

77

5/31/12

87

4/24/12

114

4/19/12

117

4/19/12

125

10/20/11

247

Chicago N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/25/12

4

9/20/12

7

9/19/12

8

9/10/12

15

9/10/12

15

Dallas N/A N/A

9/24/12

5

9/19/12

8

9/18/12

9

9/13/12

12

9/11/12

14

9/6/12

17

9/4/12

19

8/14/12

34

Kansas City N/A

9/18/12

9

8/22/12

28

7/25/12

48

7/19/12

52

5/2/12

108

2/9/12

167

2/9/12

167

1/5/12

192

11/8/11

234

Denver N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/20/12

7

9/17/12

13

San 

Francisco N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/20/12

7

9/20/12

7

9/12/12

13

Seattle N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/27/12

2

9/27/12

2

9/21/12

6

9/18/12

9

9/17/12

10

District of 

Columbia

8/16/12

32

8/16/12

32

7/19/12

52

7/11/12

58

5/20/12

89

5/10/12

101

4/6/12

126

3/8/12

147

1/25/12

178

12/12/11

210

Cleveland

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

9/28/12

1

8/20/12

30

6/11/12

80

5/30/12

107

ED Totals 2/23/11

418

1/3/11

455

11/15/10

490

10/18/10

510

9/7/10

539

8/30/10

545

7/26/10

570

7/6/10

584

2/24/10

678

8/3/09

825
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 27

VII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS 

FOR FEE WAIVER 

A. Requests for Expedited Processing* 

Component Offices Number 

Granted

Number 

Denied

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate

Average 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate

Number 

Adjudicated 

Within Ten 

Calendar 

Days

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 1 0 1 1 1

IES 0 0 0 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0 0

M 2 0 .5 .5 2

OCFO 0 0 0 0 0

OCFO – CAM 0 0 0 0 0

OCIO 0 0 0 0 0

OCO 0 0 0 0 0

OCR 0 1 1 1 1

ODS 0 0 0 0 0

OELA 0 0 0 0 0

OESE 0 0 0 0 0

OGC 0 0 0 0 0

OIG 0 0 0 0 0

OII 0 0 0 0 0

OLCA 0 0 0 0 0

OM 0 0 0 0 0

OM – PIRMS 2 3 1 2.4 4

OPE 0 0 0 0 0

OPEPD 0 0 0 0 0

OS 3 1 1 .75 4

OSDFS 0 0 0 0 0

OSERS 0 0 0 0 0

OUS 0 0 0 0 0

OVAE 0 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Office

Boston 0 0 0 0 0

New York 0 0 0 0 0

Philadelphia 2 3 1 2.4 5

Atlanta 0 1 1 1 1

Chicago 0 0 0 0 0

Dallas 0 0 0 0 0

Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0

Denver 0 0 0 0 0

San Francisco 0 0 0 0 0

Seattle 0 0 0 0 0

District of Columbia 0 0 0 0 0

Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0

ED Totals 11 7 1 .98 18

*The Department of Education has a centralized processing program for all Headquarters programs. The 

OM-RIMS Office adjudicates requests for expedited processing and issues determination letters. 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 28

B. Requests for Fee Waiver* 

Component Offices Number 

Granted

Number 

Denied

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate

Average 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 8 9 5 17.24

IES 0 4 5 13.5

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 0

M 8 3 6.5 55.28

OCFO 1 0 299 299

OCFO – CAM 0 0 0 0

OCIO 1 0 52 52

OCO 0 0 0 0

OCR 3 3 10.5 67.17

ODS 1 0 424 424

OELA 0 0 0 0

OESE 1 1 69 69

OGC 2 0 22.5 22.5

OIG 1 1 2.5 2.5

OII 0 0 0 0

OLCA 0 0 0 0

OM 1 0 5 5

OM – PIRMS 5 4 5 26.44

OPE 1 4 4 22

OPEPD 0 0 0 0

OS 2 1 101 74.67

OSDFS 0 0 0 0

OSERS 0 1 38 38

OUS 0 0 0 0

OVAE 0 0 0 0

OCR Field Office

Boston 0 1 1 1

New York 1 0 12 12

Philadelphia 1 0 1 1

Atlanta 0 0 0 0

Chicago 2 0 11.5 11.5

Dallas 0 0 0 0

Kansas City 0 2 6.5 6.5

Denver 0 2 4 4

San Francisco 3 3 1 2

Seattle 0 0 0 0

District of Columbia 0 0 0 0

Cleveland 0 1 176 176

ED Totals 40 40 6.5 55.28

*The Department of Education has a centralized processing program for all Headquarters programs. The 

OM-RIMS Office adjudicates requests for fee waivers and issues determination letters. 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 29

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS 

Component Offices

A. PERSONNEL B. COSTS

Number of 

Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees

Number of 

Equivalent 

Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees

Total 

Number of 

Full-Time 

FOIA Staff

Processing 

Costs

LitigationRelated 

Costs

Total Costs 

FOIA Processing 

License N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

ED Headquarters Programs

FSA 0 3.75 3.75 $318,466.00 0.00 $318,466.00

IES 0 .85 .85 $112,000.00 0.00 $112,000.00

IES – NAGB 0 0 0 $0.00 0.00 $0.00

M 0 0 0 $0.00 0.00 $0.00

OCFO 0 .25 .25 $16,106.75 0.00 $16,106.75

OCFO – CAM 0 .35 .35 $22,553.65 0.00 $22,553.65

OCIO 0 .5 .5 $32,219.50 0.00 $32,219.50

OCO 0 .02 .02 $4,482.42 0.00 $4,482.42

OCR 0 2.05 2.05 $117,288.00 0.00 $117,288.00

ODS 0 .2 .2 $12,493.40 0.00 $12,493.40

OELA 0 .01 .01 $927.00 0.00 $927.00

OESE 0 .13 .13 $25,900.00 0.00 $25,900.00

OGC 0 1.2 1.2 $164,399.90 $5,789.00 $170,188.90

OIG 0 .03 .03 $2,620.50 0.00 $2,620.50

OII 0 .44 .44 $67,438.00 0.00 $67,438.00

OLCA 0 0 0 $0.00 0.00 $0.00

OM 0 2 0 $224,553.00 $72,317.00 $296,870.00

OM – PIRMS 9 0 9 $911,062.00 0.00 $911,062.00

OPE 0 .2 .2 $17,969.20 0.00 $17,969.20

OPEPD 0 .2 .2 $20,180.80 0.00 $20,180.80

OS 0 .09 .09 $22,714.38 0.00 $22,714.38

OSDFS 0 0 0 $0.00 0.00 $0.00

OSERS 0 1 1 $78,964.37 0.00 $78,964.37

OUS 0 .2 .2 $22,877.00 0.00 $22,877.00

OVAE 0 .029 .029 $3,613.00 0.00 $3,613.00

OCR Regional Offices

Boston 0 1.8 1.8 $161,008.02 0.00 $161,008.02

New York 0 .04 .04 $7,017.51 0.00 $7,017.51

Philadelphia 0 1.25 1.25 $104,164.40 0.00 $104,164.40

Atlanta 0 2.45 2.45 $190,091.15 0.00 $190,091.15

Chicago 0 2.6 2.6 $198,775.20 0.00 $198,775.20

Dallas 0 .14 .14 $16,914.18 0.00 $16,914.18

Kansas City 0 .35 .35 $40,869.12 0.00 $40,869.12

Denver 0 3.4 3.4 $11,525.38 0.00 $11,525.38

San Francisco 0 .3 .3 $21,095.70 0.00 $21,095.70

Seattle 0 .25 .25 $21,123.40 0.00 $21,123.40

District of 

Columbia 0 4 4 $87,350.00 0.00 $87,350.00

Cleveland 0 .01 .01 $6,549.69 0.00 $6,549.69

ED Totals 9 30.089 39.089 $3,065,312.62 $78,106.00 $3,143,418.62
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 30

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS* 

Component Offices Total Amount of Fees 

Collected Percentage of Total Costs

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA $190.26 0.57%

IES $402.58 4.73%

IES – NAGB $0.00 0.00%

M $0.00 0.00%

OCFO $0.00 0.00%

OCFO – CAM $151.91 4.42%

OCIO $0.00 0.00%

OCO $0.00 0.00%

OCR $0.00 0.00%

ODS $0.00 0.00%

OELA $0.00 0.00%

OESE $0.00 0.00%

OGC $0.00 0.00%

OIG $0.00 0.00%

OII $0.00 0.00%

OLCA $0.00 0.00%

OM $0.00 0.00%

OM – PIRMS $5,186.19 91.94%

OPE $55.55 1.36%

OPEPD $0.00 0.00%

OS $0.00 0.00%

OSDFS $0.00 0.00%

OSERS $338.81 27.50%

OUS $0.00 0.00%

OVAE $0.00 0.00%

OCR Field Office

Boston $22.40 0.00%

New York $78.30 0.39%

Philadelphia $410.00 52.65%

Atlanta $0.00 0.00%

Chicago $62.40 0.02%

Dallas $144.36 17.00%

Kansas City $208.40 122.73%

Denver $0.00 0.00%

San Francisco $0.00 0.00%

Seattle $0.00 0.00%

District of Columbia $0.00 0.00%

Cleveland $0.00 0.00%

ED Totals $7250.68 3.66%

**The Department of Education has a centralized fee collection process. The fees collected are reflected 

for each program and OCR Field Office that generated the fee. 

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS 

The Department of Education FOIA Implementing Regulation is codified at 34 

CFR Part 5.
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

XII BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS 

A. Backlogs of FOIA/PA Requests and Administrative Appeals 

Component Offices

Number of Backlogged*

Requests

as of End of FY 2012

Number of Backlogged*

Appeals

as of End of FY 2012

ED Headquarters Offices

FSA 24 0

IES 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0

M 29 0

OCFO 2 0

OCFO – CAM 6 0

OCIO 1 0

OCO 1 0

OCR 2 0

ODS 0 0

OELA 0 0

OESE 6 0

OGC 0 0

OIG 6 0

OII 1 0

OLCA 1 0

OM 3 0

OM – RIMS 35 27

OPE 14 0

OPEPD 2 0

OS 23 0

OSDFS 0 0

OSERS 1 0

OUS 0 0

OVAE 0 0

OCR Field Office

Boston 17 0

New York 27 0

Philadelphia 1 0

Atlanta 12 0

Chicago 0 0

Dallas 1 0

Kansas City 8 0

Denver 0 0

San Francisco 0 0

Seattle 0 0

District of Columbia 12 0

Cleveland 3 0

ED Totals 238 27

*Backlogged requests are requests (or appeals) pending greater than 20 days, the number of which may not be 

the same as the number of requests (or appeals) carried over from the previous year.

Page 31
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 32

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending 

Consultations 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that Were

Pending

The Department 

of Education as 

of Start of FY 

2012

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies

During

FY 2012

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that Were

Processed

by The 

Department of 

Education 

During FY 2012

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that Were

Pending

at The 

Department of 

Education as of 

End of FY 2012

Agency 

Overall 0 0 0 0

C. Consultation on FOIA/PA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies and Pending at The Department of Education 

10th Oldest 

Consultation 

and number 

of Days 

Pending

9

th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd

Oldest 

Consultation 

and Number 

of Days 

Pending

Agency 

Overall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 33

D.1. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual 

Report – Requests Received and Processed 

Component Offices

NUMBER OF REQUESTS 

RECEIVED

NUMBER OF REQUESTS 

PROCESSED

During FY 

2011 from 

Last Year’s 

Annual 

Report

During FY 

2012 from 

Current 

Annual 

Report

During FY 

2011 from 

Last Year’s 

Annual 

Report

During FY 

2012 from 

Current 

Annual 

Report

ED Headquarters Programs

FSA 287 335 325 328

IES 40 35 47 38

IES – NAGB 3 0 3 0

M 0 118 0 118

OCFO 11 8 10 9

OCFO – CAM 48 64 46 80

OCIO 4 3 9 3

OCO 7 5 6 6

OCR 99 100 106 101

ODS 0 5 0 8

OELA 10 3 11 6

OESE 76 78 80 79

OGC 16 7 10 12

OIG 58 62 49 63

OII 43 36 35 43

OLCA 6 3 1 7

OM 43 48 35 50

OM – RIMS 199 43 276 59

OPE 153 158 168 157

OPEPD 13 4 19 4

OS 71 27 9 40

OSDFS 78 4 127 8

OSERS 42 29 43 43

OUS 15 8 5 9

OVAE 11 5 12 5

OCR Regional Offices

Boston 158 147 135 153

New York 150 165 136 162

Philadelphia 71 75 71 82

Atlanta 64 77 69 66

Chicago 131 131 132 135

Dallas 84 82 89 81

Kansas City 39 28 41 24

Denver 60 49 58 52

San Francisco 64 76 62 75

Seattle 117 113 116 109

District of Columbia 88 74 81 74

Cleveland 42 41 45 37

ED Totals 2,401 2,246 2,486 2,346
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 34

D.2. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual 

Report – Requests Backlogged 

Component Offices

Number of 

Backlogged Requests 

as of

End of FY 2011 from 

Previous Annual 

Report

Number of 

Backlogged Requests 

as of

End of FY 2012 from 

Current Annual 

Report

ED Headquarters Programs

FSA 1 24

IES 0 0

IES – NAGB 0 0

M N/A 29

OCFO 1 2

OCFO – CAM 1 6

OCIO 0 1

OCO 0 1

OCR 0 2

ODS N/A 0

OELA 0 0

OESE 0 6

OGC 14 0

OIG 4 6

OII 0 1

OLCA 6 1

OM 1 3

OM – RIMS 60 35

OPE 1 14

OPEPD 9 2

OS 41 23

OSDFS 2 0

OSERS 11 1

OUS 13 0

OVAE 0 0

OCR Regional Offices

Boston 32 17

New York 19 27

Philadelphia 6 1

Atlanta 2 12

Chicago 1 0

Dallas 0 1

Kansas City 9 8

Denver 4 0

San Francisco 2 0

Seattle 1 0

District of Columbia 13 12

Cleveland 1 3

ED Totals 255 238
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 35

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and 

Current Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged 

NUMBER OF APPEALS 

RECEIVED

NUMBER OF APPEALS 

PROCESSED

Number 

Received 

During FY 

2011 from 

Last Year’s 

Annual 

Report

Number 

Received 

During FY 

2012 from 

Current 

Annual 

Report

Number 

Processed 

During FY 

2011 from 

Last Year’s 

Annual 

Report

Number 

Processed 

During FY 

2012 from 

Current 

Annual 

Report

OM – RIMS 32 25 15 34

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of FY 

2011 from Previous Annual 

Report

Number of Backlogged*

Appeals as of End of FY 

2012 from Current Annual 

Report

OM – RIMS 39 27

*Backlogged appeals are appeals pending greater than 20 days, the number of which 

may not be the same as the number of appeals carried over from the previous year. 

F. Discussion of Other Department of Education FOIA Activities 

The Office of Management (OM) advises the public and U.S. Department 

of Education (ED) employees regarding FOIA requests and ED 

information available to the public. As the lead organization for ED's FOIA 

Program, OM provides training for ED officials and guidance and support 

to the FOIA Coordinators and FOIA Review Officers in the Department's 

Principal Offices and 12 regional and field offices. 

Requests via email to: EDFOIAManager@ed.gov 

Requests via fax to: (202) 401-0920 

Requests via mail to: 

U.S. Department of Education 

Office of Management 

Regulatory Information Management Services 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW, LBJ 2W220 

Washington, DC 20202-4536 

ATTN: FOIA Public Liaison 

FOIA Requester Service Center 

(202) 401-8365 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 36

Chief FOIA Officer 

Winona H. Varnon 

Privacy Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of Management 

Delegated the Authority to Perfom 

the Functions of the 

Assistant Secretary for Managment 

FOIA Director 

(202) 401-8365

Gregory Smith

FOIA Public Liaisons 

Elise Cook 

Maria-Teresa Cueva 

Linda Darby 

Robert Wehausen 

Christie Swafford 

(202) 401-8365 

FOIA Appeals 

Robert Wehausen 

(202) 401-8365 

Privacy Act Request 

Maria-Teresa Cueva 

(202) 401-8365 

FOIA Service Center Processing Improvements 

Building on input provided by the Department’s FY2011 Business Transformation 

Team, the Department continues to implement improvements to make 

processing procedures more effective and efficient. These improvements focus 

on refining the intake process, specifically establishing stronger communications 

with FOIA requesters and the Department’s Program Offices. The streamlining of 

this process has enabled the Department to more effectively identify what the 

requester seeks and more readily access existing records and ultimately 

releasing information without delay. 

Proactive Release 

The Department has identified types of documents that have been previously 

requested and is now focused on proactively releasing these documents into the 

public domain via the FOIA Library. Additionally, the FOIA Service Center is 

working in concert with the Department’s program offices to more readily identify 

material to publish in the FOIA Library to provide the requester with better access 

to Departmental Records. 

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

 Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) Grants 

Applications 
U.S. Department of Education – FY 2012 Annual FOIA Report

Page 37

 Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Webinar-Case Study 1 

(High School Feedback Report and Case Study 2 (Head Start Program) 

 Gainful Employment Administrative Records 

Training and Outreach 

The Department’s Office of the General Council’s Division of Business and 

Administrative Law (OGC/DBAL), in partnership with the FOIA Service Center, 

provide customized FOIA Training to help Departmental Offices improve their 

FOIA practices and better understand the legal requirements and implications of 

the FOIA. 

In fiscal year 2012, the FOIA Service Center held bi-monthly meetings with the 

Department’s program offices to reemphasize the responsibilities of operating a 

successful FOIA operation. These meetings focused on principles such as 

openness and transparency, customer service, and basic FOIA Training. 

The Department’s principal office’s senior leaders met quarterly during fiscal year 

2012 to discuss FOIA operations and evaluated ways to improve existing FOIA 

procedures in an effort to reduce errors and increase transparency and 

responsiveness. 

The FOIA Service Center Staff (including FOIA Public Liaisons) and other 

Department personnel with FOIA duties attended external training sessions 

provided by the Department of Justice and the American Society of Access 

Professionals. These training sessions not only acted as refresher courses for 

some, but also expanded the overall knowledge of Department’s FOIA staff 

about FOIA principles and transparency in this Open Government era.