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Answered: FOIA/OMA

Everything you need to know about Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.

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Question | FOIA/OMA

Do I have to pay for the information I ask for in a FOIA request?

I’m on the student newspaper and I wanted to find out why my school made so many changes to our school lunch program recently. I submitted a FOIA request asking to see all of the principal’s email messages in the past year. The school told me it was going to charge me $5,000 to turn over the emails! I can’t afford that, so I can’t do the story. Is this right? Can the school charge me this much? Aren’t the emails public info?

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Question | FOIA/OMA

I want to file a FOIA request, but I don't know how. Any advice?

So, you want to access public information and plan to use a FOIA request to get what you’re looking for, but don’t know all the requirements.

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Question | FOIA/OMA

When will I get a response to my FOIA request?

A few days ago I mailed a FOIA request to an agency requesting some copies of documents. How long do you have to wait for a response?

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