ACLU says Cape’s FOIA fees are too high

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Cape Henlopen School District and two others in Superior Court, claiming the districts are charging too much for information. 

The Freedom of Information Act permits anyone to seek information from school districts and other public bodies. These entities are permitted to charge a reasonable amount of money to collect and compile the requested information. 

The ACLU’s lawsuit claims Cape, Woodbridge and Christina school districts are charging too much. The group came to this conclusion after requesting the same information from every school district in the state. While the average amount charged was $393, quotes were $3,438 for Cape, $2,000 for Woodbridge and $1,934 for Christina. The ACLU claims none of the three districts charged a fee to fulfill the same request in 2024.

“Charging thousands of dollars for information requests creates a substantial barrier to the average Delawarean seeking information about their local school district,” the ACLU said in a press release. “This greatly undermines the intention of Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act, which is meant to give the public greater access to information about public-serving institutions in the state.”

The ALCU submitted FOIA requests Oct. 1-2 to all 19 school districts in Delaware, seeking information relevant to educational opportunities and outcomes for English language learners in public schools. The requests were supplemental to previous requests made in August 2024.

“The type of information sought in the 2025 ELL requests was largely identical to that sought in the 2024 requests that defendants answered without any charge,” the complaint reads.

Four of 14 school districts responded to the request without charging any fees. Seven districts estimated fees less than $400 and no more than eight hours of labor to respond to the request.

Cape estimated it would take 47.5 hours at a rate of $72.38 per hour to complete the request. In an Oct. 21 response to the ACLU, Assistant Superintendent LouAnn Hudson said the rate billed is the current hourly pay grade of the lowest-paid employee capable of performing the service. 

A statement in Hudson’s response, which appears to be standard language used across all districts, says factors for satisfying FOIA requests are different in each district, which may result in different responses. 

“Regarding costs and fees, be aware that each district is staffed differently, and its employees have different training, passwords, abilities and access,” says the statement, which appears verbatim in responses from all districts included in the complaint. “Therefore, any variances in substantive responses or fee estimates among the districts should not be construed against any district or districts.”

The ACLU is seeking an opinion from the court that the school districts’ administrative fees are unreasonable and not the minimum amount necessary. The group is also asking the court to order the districts to provide the requested documents in compliance with state law, and award the ACLU its attorneys’ fees and costs.

Although Cape, Woodbridge and Christina are the only districts included in the complaint, the ACLU included letters from other districts containing their quotes. Those include:

• Appoquinimink - $1,737.25

• Caesar Rodney - $135.52

• Colonial - $387.25

• Delmar - $1,087.25

• Indian River - $372.80

• Lake Forest - $1,163.40

• Milford - $116.91

• Seaford - $139.75

• Smyrna - $240

• Sussex Tech - $136.18.

To view the ACLU’s complaint, go to aclu-de.org/cases/delaware-school-district-foia-fees/?document=Complaint.