May 20, 2021
SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL
California Public Records Act Requests Officeof the General Counsel
Los Angeles Unified SchoolDistrict
333 S. Beaudry Avenue, 24th Floor
Los Angeles,CA 90017
Phone: (213) 241-6601
Fax: (213) 241-8444
Email: pra@lausd.net
RE: California PublicRecords Request to Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for Records Concerning Quiz in Select Middle Schools About Conflict Between Palestinians and Israel
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is a request (“Request”) in accordance with the California Public Records Act (PRA),Government Code Section6250, et seq.
This Request is made by StandWithUs (“SWU”), an international, non-profit education organization inspired by the belief that education is the road to peace. SWU is dedicated to educating people of all ages and backgrounds about Israeland to combating the antisemitism and extremism that often distort the issues surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict. In fulfillment of this mission, SWU regularly produces publications, films, conferences and programs and hosts fellowships for high school and college students in countries around the world with the goal of promoting policies and discussions that correct, rather than perpetuate, common prejudices in this context.
Records Requested
SWU hereby requests that, in accordance with California law, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) respond within ten (10) business days and produce the records identified below, with the term “record” defined, according to the PRA, as “any writing containing information relatingto the conduct of the public’s businessprepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or localagency regardless of physical form or characteristics,” and the term “writing” defined, according to the PRA, as “any handwriting, typewriting, printing, Photostatting, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing, any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record therebycreated, regardless of the mannerin which the record has been stored”:
(1) All records created, generated, forwarded, transmitted, sent, shared, saved, received, or reviewed by any LAUSD official, employee, contractor, or agent between May 1 and May 20, 2021, concerning or related in any way to a current events quiz generated to LAUSD middle school students and addressing in any way Israel/Israelis and/or Palestine/Palestinians. Such records should include, but not be limited to:
o The quiz itself, including all questions on the quiz and any instructions for the quiz;
o All communications relating to the quiz, including any “online platform about current events” parent communication(s) from Portola Charter Middle School;
o The correct responses to the questions within this quiz
(2) All records identifying the LAUSD-approved current events quiz app used to generate and distribute the quiz that is the subject matter of (1) above, as well as any records indicating how long LAUSD has been using this app; and
(3) All records concerning the process by which questions are approved for use in quizzes distributed to LAUSD students through this app, including all records that identify the person(s) responsible for generating the questions for such quizzes.
If this Request is denied in whole or in part, SWU requests that the LAUSD support all such denialsby reference to specific exemptions within the California PRA and includesufficient explanatory information as to how such denialssatisfy the exemption requirements.
SWU reserves the right to appeal any decision to withhold records or information sought by this Request.
Thank you for your prompt consideration of this Request. Please direct any response to this Request and all responsive records to the undersigned.
Carly F. Gammill
Director, Centerfor Combating Antisemitism StandWithUs
P.O. Box 341069
Los Angeles, CA 90034-1069 424-355-2905, ext. 164
carlyg@standwithus.com
