Bullying policy subject of FOIA request

Region

ABOUT THE FOIA REQUEST

The following is the text of a state Freedom of Information Act public records request as submitted from Bill Wiesner, of TCFamily.org, to Traverse City Area Public Schools. TCAPS received it and replied March 24.

Steve Cousins / Superintendent TCAPS
Traverse City Area
Public Schools
412 Webster Street
Traverse City, MI 49686

Dear Superintendent Cousins:

Pursuant to Michigan Compiled Laws Section 15.231, et. Seq., and any other relevant statutes or provisions of your operating procedures, I make the following Freedom of Information request:

Please DIGITALLY copy and send to me all public records, including but not limited to files, letters, documents, budgets, and/or memoranda of any kind regarding:

(1) TCAPS recent decision to review both HR Policy Review #5517 and Guidelines #5517, which propose special protection status for "sexual orientation" (homosexual behavior) to a list of protected groups. Please include all supporting information Chris Davis (or any other TCAPS employee or Board Member) gave to the Board in support of adding "Sexual Orientation" to the list of protected classes. [Please fill this #(1) FOIA request first.]

(2) TCAPS funding, sponsorship, promotion, discussion, correspondence, and/or relationship with the homosexual advocacy organization Traverse City Central High School's "Gay-Straight Alliance."

(3) TCAPS funding, sponsorship, promotion, discussion, correspondence, and/or relationship with any other organization(s) or activities or events regarding the so-called "gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender" issue, including but not limited to (a) Traverse City's so-called "Human Rights Commission"; (b) the Triangle Foundation based in Detroit; (c) the Traverse City "Gay-Straight Alliance"; (d) 3rd Level Crisis Center and its homosexual advocacy group "WINDFIRE"; (e) the homosexual advocacy group "Hate-Free TC"; (f) NMC's homosexual advocacy groups "SPECTRUM" and "PRIDE"; (g) The homosexual advocacy group "We Are Traverse City" (h) Thomas Shed Center at Munson Hospital; (i) Planned Parenthood; (j) PFLAG / Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; (k) "Adult Allies" / as described in Windfire's Mission Statement: "to empower adult Allies in schools to challenge tolerance of harassment ... to LGBTQ students." (l) TAHRA (Traverse Area Human Resource Association), who brought the Pillsbury's "Breaking Ice Troupe" that performed at TC Central HS in January, 2005; (m) any past TC Central High School "Diversity Week" plans; (n) NEOLA (source for Board Policy services); (o) MEA — Michigan Education Association; (p) NEA — National Education Association; (q) the homosexual "Day of Silence"; (r) the Traverse City "Gay and Lesbian Prom", including the prom event held in 2010 at the "Arts Church" on 14th Street in Traverse City.

(4) All actions or communications regarding any of the above by (a) Aaron Bigger / Advisor for TC Central's "Gay-Straight Alliance"; (b) Joli LaRochi / 3rd Level Crisis Center employee; (c) Jeffrey Knobl / former TC West teacher and one of the directors of gay & lesbian support groups at 3rd Level Crisis Center; (d) Andy Marek / concerned father of a TCAPS student who was bullied; (e) M'Lynn Hartwell / "We Are Traverse City" webmaster, plus posted articles on the "Gay-Straight Alliance of Traverse City; (f) Joe Kelly (who was the speaker at the TCAPS sponsored "Bullying, Cyber bullying and Harassment" presentation held at TC West on 5/12/10); (g) Bill Meyer / past TCAPS counselor at TC Central High School who was involved with the "Diversity Weeks" and in establishing the TC Central Gay-Straight Alliance; (h) Jeff Haas / a local musician who has spoken to over 50,000 public school students grades K-12 on the topic of exploring "diversity" and "tolerance"; (i) Dean and Cindy Robb / started PFLAG in our community; (j) Lisa Blackford / Diversity Coordinator at NMC; (k) Paul Heaton / PR Director at NMC and self-identified "gay" activist; (l) Jay Kaplan / ACLU attorney and self-identified "gay" activist; (m) Jim Carruthers / City Commissioner and self-identified "gay" activist; (n) Brian Simerson / HIV case manager at Thomas Judd Center and self-identified "gay" activist; (o) Susan Odgers / adjunct psychology and human sexuality teacher at NMC; and (p) Marshall Persky / Chair of the Traverse City Human Rights Commission and Vice President of 3rd Level Crisis Center.

Your search should not be limited to these areas; rather, they are named for your assistance in locating records complying with the above request. Please note that I am requesting to review the complete files that reference any of the items included in this request.

For purposes of this request, the term "records" is to be construed as broadly as possible under the statutory definition in Michigan Compiled Laws Section 15.231, et. seq.

If the records are maintained digitally (electronically), the request should be filled in that format; please send them DIGITALLY to the following email address:

bwiesner7@charter.net

Please include ALL communication, including email, text messages, handwritten, electronic or hard copy communications. Do NOT limit your search to digital records only. IF the materials cannot be sent in DIGITAL format, please send them in hard copy format to my attention at the following address:

Bill Wiesner, 7998 E Fouch Rd, Traverse City, Michigan 49684

If you elect to charge fees to comply with this request, and if these fees exceed $50 for searching and reproducing the aforementioned materials, please notify me of the cost prior to filling this request. If the fees do not exceed $50, please fill this request and include an itemized invoice with the copied documents.

If any of this request is denied, I request you specify all legal exemptions you believe justify your withholding of the information. I further request that these reasons identify which document or portion of a document is not provided.

I further request that if all the above documents cannot be provided within 5 days, whatever documents can be assembled within 5 days of the request be mailed at that time. If an extension is required, please mail after each 5-day period the documents that can be assembled during that time. We will pay postage for such mailings if necessary. Your prompt attention to this FOIA request is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Bill Wiesner / Founder www.tcfamily.org website
7998 E Fouch Rd
Traverse City, Michigan 49684
231-946-6157

Related Photos

Bill Wiesner

March 29, 2011

BY LINDSAY VANHULLE lvanhulle@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Tue Mar 29, 2011, 07:19 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — The founder of a local religious-based website filed a lengthy public records request with Traverse City Area Public Schools for documents related to a recent school board review of a bullying policy.

In addition, Bill Wiesner, who maintains TCFamily.org, seeks information about the district's "funding, sponsorship, promotion, discussion, correspondence, and/or relationship with any other organization(s) or activities or events regarding the so-called 'gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender' issue."

Several groups and individuals, including the Gay-Straight Alliance at Central High School and the Traverse City Human Rights Commission, are mentioned by name.

Wiesner, who filed his state Freedom of Information Act request March 24, could not be reached for comment Monday.

TCFamily.org describes itself as "defending families," and includes links to religious articles that discourage homosexuality.

District administrators said they don't ask about the intention behind a FOIA records request, which requires governments to make available files, emails and other documents upon request.

They have five days to respond to the original inquiry and can take up to 10 additional business days to produce the information.

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