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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The basic function of the Freedom of Information Act is to ensure informed citizens, vital to the functioning of a democratic society.
As a citizen, you can file a Freedom of Information Act request with any governmental body seeking documents, records and emails.

Examples of documents might include contracts that CPS has signed with vendors. Records might include how many schools have full-time nurses. Emails can be filed for as long as one of the parties is a CPS employee.

Basics

Filing a Freedom of Information Act is easy. A few things to keep in mind:
  • The FOIA request itself is also public. You'll have to be okay with others searching for your request.
  • CPS FOIA must respond to you within 5 business days. They may elongate the timeline by another 5 days, or continue to request narrowed requests.
  • You can file as many FOIA requests as you'd like. 

Remember...


CPS will redact (blackout) information that has to do with students or is otherwise confidential. If you're looking for information about your own child, they will ask you to verify that you are a guardian or have legal authority to the information. Sometimes this is just sending in an ID to the FOIA officer.

CPS will also redact personal email addresses of others who are in the requests you've made.
The most important political office is that of the private citizen.
-Louis Brandeis, Supreme Court Justice
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Freedom of Information Act Law
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