Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta Highlights Importance of FOIA Training and New E-Learning Resources

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who also serves as the Department’s Chief FOIA Officer, recently issued a memorandum to agency Chief FOIA Officers and General Counsels emphasizing the importance of FOIA training, underscoring the Attorney General’s FOIA Guidelines issued earlier this year.  The memorandum highlights three new training modules that the Office of Information Policy (OIP) has made available to all agencies.   

OIP designed these training modules to address the unique needs of multiple levels of the federal workforce.  An in-depth course for FOIA professionals provides a training session on the major procedural and substantive requirements of the law.  A shorter course for federal employees provides a brief primer on the FOIA and highlights their responsibilities under the law.  Finally, a brief course for agency senior executives emphasizes the importance of leadership support for an agency’s FOIA program.  Along with these updated training modules, OIP also updated its FOIA Infographic, a one-page resource to help new employees understand what the FOIA is and how the FOIA process works at their agencies.

In her memorandum, Associate Attorney General Gupta states that “A proper understanding of the FOIA and of the Attorney General’s FOIA Guidelines . . . is fundamental to any agency’s successful FOIA operation.”  You can read the full text of this memorandum on OIP’s Training page. 

All training materials are available directly from OIP’s website.  The e-Learning training modules are designed for use within an agency’s Learning Management System.  For more information on all of these resources, please visit our Training page.  Questions may be directed to OIP’s Training Coordinator at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.