UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY FOIA Service Center February 26, 2020 Mr. Austin R. Evers Executive Director American Oversight 1030 15th Street Suite B255 Washington, DC 20002 RE: FOIA Request No. 19-02129-F Dear Austin R. Evers: This letter is a final response to your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, dated August 23, 2019 and received in this office on August 26, 2019. Your request was forwarded to the following offices to search for documents that may be responsive to your request: Office of the Secretary (OS), Office of Legislation & Congressional Affairs (OLCA) and Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). You requested the following: 1. All email communications (including email messages, attachments, calendar invitations, and calendar invitation attachments) involving Reed Cordish and the agency officials specified below. For part 1 of this request, please provide all responsive records from February 17, 2018, until the date of the search. 2. All email communications (including email messages, attachments, calendar invitations, and calendar invitation attachments) involving (a) Margaret “Maggie” Katz Cordish or anyone communicating from an email address ending in @cordish.com and (b) the agency officials specified below. For part 2 of this request, please provide all responsive from January 20, 2017, until the date of the search. For both parts of this request, American Oversight requests that Education produce responsive records of the following agency officials: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, including anyone communicating on her behalf, such as a special or executive assistant, or scheduler Deputy Secretary of Education, Mitchell Zais Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Ebony Lee Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Lee-Douglas Simmons Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Jason Botel Deputy Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Michael E. Wooten Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and Planning, Mark Washington Page 2 - Austin R. Evers 19-02129-F viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Kimberly R. Ford Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Kathleen Smith Director of Correctional Education, Sean Addie Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, A. Wayne Johnson Senior Advisor, James F. Manning Special Assistant to the Secretary, Jessica Newman Special Assistant to the Secretary, Robert S. Eitel Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, Peter L. Oppenheim Staff from OS, OLCA and OCTAE informed this office (FSC) that after a search of their files, they were unable to locate any documents that were responsive to your request. You have the right to seek assistance and/or dispute resolution services from the Department’s FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). The FOIA Public Liaison is responsible, among other duties, for assisting in the resolution of FOIA disputes. OGIS, which is outside the Department of Education, offers mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. They can be contacted by: Mail FOIA Public Liaison Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., SW, LBJ 7C132 Washington, DC 20202-4500 E-mail robert.wehausen@ed.gov Phone 202-205-0733 Fax 202-401-0920 Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2510 College Park, MD 20740-6001 OGIS@nara.gov 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448 202-741-5769 Lastly, you have the right to appeal this determination. You must submit any appeal within 90 calendar days after the date of this letter. Using the services described above does not affect your right, or the deadline, to pursue an appeal. An appeal must be in writing and must include a detailed statement of all legal and factual bases for the appeal; it should be accompanied by a copy of this letter, the initial letter of request, and any documentation that serves as evidence or supports the argument you wish the Department to consider in resolving your appeal. Appeals may be submitted using the on-line form available at www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foia-appeal-form.pdf. Page 3 - Austin R. Evers 19-02129-F Appeals can also be submitted by: E-mail: EDFOIAappeals@ed.gov Fax: 202-401-0920 Mail: Appeals Office Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, LBJ 7W106A Washington, DC 20202-4500 If you have any questions, please contact the FSC at (202) 401-8365 or via email at EDFOIAMANAGER@ed.gov. Sincerely, Sandra Lewandowski Sandra Lewandowski Government Information Specialist Office of the Executive Secretariat