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About FOIA
More Resources
Chief FOIA Officer Report
PDF (839KB)
PDF (839KB)
Attorney General Garland's FOIA Memo
PDF (1.36K)
Guide to Requesting ED Records (PDF) (232K)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, was enacted in 1966 and generally 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.
- There are nine exemptions to the FOIA that protect certain records from disclosure.
- FOIA Statutory Exclusions
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 Education agencies should be contacted for further information about these statutes.
Making Requests
Consult the FOIA Library and search the ED.gov website. Both contain many documents that are available to the public.