The request was for: “A copy of any and all records, briefing material or background reports prepared for the Minister including all correspondence between the Minister or the Deputy Minister and the Premier’s office or any school boards regarding policies on bullying or homophobia. Time frame is May 1, 2011 to Dec. 7, 2011.”

At the time of my post, I knew only that the request had been filed by a political party, but I’ve since learned that it was sent by NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert.

I asked him Friday what he was attempting to uncover, and he said he was looking for evidence that the ministry was doing something to deliver on Premier Christy Clark’s promise of tough anti-bullying action. (Read about that here.)

“I was a bit disappointed,” he said of the blank-page response, which you can find here. (EDU-2011-00110) He said he had hoped for documents that would show the ministry was preparing to give clear instructions to B.C. school districts that they must have policies that provide specific protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students (similar to the Burnaby policy that sparked a heated debate in the spring).

The blank pages indicated that something happened in late November, involving Education Minister George Abbott and his deputy, James Gorman. Chandra Herbert said he thinks that “something” was the preparation of a request for proposals that was issued in December. (Details can be found here.)

Chandra Herbert said he had also hoped the FOI would produce evidence that the ministry has been studying the issue to determine what types of bullying are prevalent in B.C. schools. That kind of information would help the ministry decide what action is necessary.

The four blank pages suggest there’s been more talk than action from Clark and her government on the safe-schools front, he stated.

UPDATE: After I posted the above, a ministry spokesman called me to say that Abbott and Gorman met with Chandra Herbert on Jan. 12 to talk about the anti-bullying plan. He wouldn’t say whether the NDP MLA was given details, only that a meeting took place and he thought that should be noted on this blog. A strategy “is being worked on,” he added.

AND AN UPDATE: Chandra Herbert said the meeting focused mainly on the RFP and a plan for action after someone is bullied, not a strategy for preventing bullying in the first place.