Name: Michael Ayele (a.k.a) W

Affiliation: Michael A. Ayele (a.k.a) W ORCID.: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5780-6457

Location: UConn Storrs

Request Date Start: 04/05/1985

Request Date End: 04/28/2025

Details: What I am requesting for prompt disclosure are records in your possession detailing your conversations about [1] the decision of the Illinois General Assembly to recognize that (i) “pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees;” (ii) “access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest;” (iii) “it is the public policy of the State of Illinois that access by all persons to public records promotes the transparency and accountability of public bodies at all levels of government;” [2] the State of Illinois having (i) amended the school code through House Bill 4175 to provide that a nonpublic school “may not engage in slapping or paddling a student, the prolonged maintenance of a student in a physically painful position, or the intentional infliction of bodily harm on a student;” (ii) become in Calendar Year 2025 the fifth (5th) state in America to prohibit the corporal punishment of children in private and public schools; [3] the formal and/or informal opinion of your local/state government on the subject of corporal punishment in American schools; [4] the August 21st 2023 findings of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which concluded that (i) “almost 70 000 (seventy thousand) students are struck at least once by school personnel during the school year;” (ii) “among US schools that use corporal punishment, racial, gender and ability disparities exist;” (iii) “Black boys are nearly twice as likely to be struck as white boys” (14% vs 7.5%); (iv) “Black girls are more than 3 times as likely to be struck as white girls;” (5.2% vs 1.7%); (v) “national data show that among students who received physical punishment at school, 16.5% were served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);” [5] the April 04th 1983 decision of President Ronald Reagan (i) to recognize that “children may be endangered by physical battering, denial of the basic necessities for life and health, sexual abuse and exploitation, or emotional cruelty;” (ii) to recognize that “public concern can help prevent maltreatment and help protect children;” (iii) to recognize that “action taken after cruelty has occurred is often too late;” (iv) to recognize that “prevention of abuse requires that neighborhoods and communities be attentive to the problems of families in their midst and be willing to help when help is needed;” (v) to proclaim the month of April 1983 as “National Child Abuse Prevention Month...”

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