FOI request (Freedom of Information request) is a formal request for records held by a public body, such as a school district. In British Columbia, families can request emails, incident reports, notes, policies, and other documents related to their child or to decisions made by the school. FOI requests are often used when families want to understand what documentation exists about an incident, a decision, or how concerns were handled. In practice, families are sometimes surprised to receive mostly records they already sent themselves—such as their own emails—while internal documentation may be limited or heavily redacted. As a result, an FOI request may reveal gaps in record-keeping as much as it reveals new information. This can still be useful, because it helps establish what the institution did or did not document at the time events occurred, which can become important in appeals, complaints, or other oversight processes.