Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

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About FOIA

More Resources
Text of the Freedom of Information Act disclaimer
Chief FOIA Officer's Report
download files  PDF (107K)
Annual FOIA Report - FY2009
download files  PDF (409K)
download files  MS Excel (49K)
Presidents Memorandum Regarding FOIA disclaimer
U.S. Department of Education FOIA Plan and Status Reports
U.S. Department of Education FOIA Backlog Reduction Goals for FY 2008-10
download files  PDF (36K)
A Citizen's Guide on Using FOIA and the Privacy Act to Request Government Records disclaimer
DOJ FOIA Guide disclaimer
ED FOIA Regulations
Proposed FOIA Regulations - 2008
Open Government Plan

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.

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 Making a Request link if you plan to make a FOIA request to the U.S. Department of Education. You may be able to access the information you need on the Internet without making a FOIA request. Before making a FOIA request, you should browse our FOIA Reading Room and search the ED.gov website. Both contain many documents that are available to the public.


 
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Last Modified: 08/27/2010