Get the government documents you're owed — without a lawyer
Learn to write powerful Freedom of Information Act requests, decode government documents, and build a compelling case — all without a law degree or expensive attorney. Take back the power of public records for yourself.
"The law was written to give you access to these documents — I just make sure you know how to use it."— Demetrius Demetrius
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Write airtight FOIA and state open-records requests that agencies cannot legally ignore
- Identify which federal, state, and local agencies hold the records you need and target them correctly
- Decode heavily redacted government documents and spot what's being hidden and why
- Appeal a denied or stonewalled FOIA request using the exact legal language that gets results
- Organize retrieved documents into a clear, chronological evidence file that tells a persuasive story
- Use your records file to file complaints, support litigation, or pressure decision-makers — without hiring an attorney
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 20 lessons
Know Your Rights: The Legal Foundation of FOIA
Before writing a single request, students must understand the legal architecture that gives FOIA its teeth. This foundational module establishes what the law is, who it binds, what it protects, and — critically — what it does NOT protect, so students never waste a request or miss a legal lever available to them. This module is intentionally first: every subsequent skill depends on knowing the rules of the game.
- 1.1What FOIA Is, Who It Covers, and Why It Has Real PowerIncluded
- 1.2The Nine Exemptions: What Agencies Can — and Cannot — Legally WithholdIncluded
- 1.3Federal vs. State vs. Local: Picking the Right Law for Your RecordsIncluded
Find Your Target: Identifying Which Agency Holds Your Records
A perfectly written FOIA request sent to the wrong agency is wasted effort. This module teaches students to think like a government records manager — tracing which agencies create, receive, store, and transfer records — before writing a single word of a request. Research done here directly sharpens every request written in Module 3. This module also introduces the concept of parallel requests and strategic targeting of multiple agencies simultaneously.
- 2.1Mapping the Paper Trail: How Government Creates and Stores RecordsIncluded
- 2.2Research Before You Request: Using Public Sources to Sharpen Your AimIncluded
- 2.3Strategic Targeting: Parallel Requests and Multi-Agency CampaignsIncluded
Write the Request: Crafting FOIA Letters That Cannot Be Ignored
This is the core skill module. Students move from research and targeting into writing — producing legally precise, strategically scoped requests that agencies cannot easily evade, delay, or deny. Every lesson builds on the legal knowledge from Module 1 and the targeting intelligence from Module 2. By the end of this module, students will have drafted at least one complete, submission-ready FOIA request.
- 3.1The Anatomy of a Winning FOIA RequestIncluded
- 3.2Scoping Requests Strategically: Specific Enough to Get Results, Broad Enough to Get EverythingIncluded
- 3.3Fee Waivers, Expedited Processing, and Cost ControlIncluded
- 3.4State Open-Records Requests and Local Agency RequestsIncluded
- 3.5Tracking, Following Up, and Keeping the Pressure OnIncluded
Decode What You Get: Reading and Analyzing Government Documents
Receiving documents is only half the battle. Government records are often dense, jargon-filled, heavily redacted, and deliberately incomplete. This module teaches students to extract maximum intelligence from whatever they receive — reading redactions as informative signals, translating bureaucratic language into plain-English evidence, and identifying when records have been improperly withheld or destroyed. These analysis skills transform raw government documents into the building blocks of a credible case.
- 4.1Reading Redacted Documents: What the Black Bars Are Telling YouIncluded
- 4.2Bureaucratic Decoding: Turning Government Jargon Into Usable EvidenceIncluded
- 4.3Spotting the Gaps: Identifying Missing, Withheld, or Destroyed RecordsIncluded
Fight Back: Appealing Denials and Stonewalling
Denials, delays, and stonewalling are not the end of the road — they are the beginning of the appeals process, which is where most FOIA battles are actually won. This module teaches students to write appeals that use precise legal language, invoke the correct regulatory and case-law standards, and escalate strategically through every available channel — from administrative appeals to OGIS mediation to Congressional pressure to litigation threats — all without filing a lawsuit or hiring a lawyer.
- 5.1Administrative Appeals: How to Write an Appeal That Gets ResultsIncluded
- 5.2OGIS, Congressional Intervention, and Escalation Without a LawyerIncluded
- 5.3The Litigation Threat: Using Legal Language Without Filing a LawsuitIncluded
Build Your Case: Organizing Records Into a Compelling Evidence File
The final module transforms a pile of government documents into a coherent, persuasive case file — one that can support a formal complaint, a regulatory proceeding, a legislative hearing, a media investigation, or pro bono litigation referral. Students learn professional document management, narrative construction, and the strategic use of their evidence file across multiple venues. The module closes with a capstone project and guidance on sustaining an ongoing FOIA practice safely and effectively.
- 6.1Organizing Your Documents Into a Chronological Evidence FileIncluded
- 6.2Using Your Records File to File Complaints and Pressure Decision-MakersIncluded
- 6.3Protecting Yourself and Sustaining Your FOIA PracticeIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
Independent Journalists
Reporters working without a legal team behind them will learn to file, appeal, and decode government records the way investigative pros do.
Community Activists
Organizers fighting local policy decisions can use FOIA to surface the documents that hold agencies and officials publicly accountable.
Small Business Owners
Entrepreneurs stuck in regulatory disputes can request the agency records they need to understand, challenge, or appeal decisions affecting their business.
Concerned Citizens
Anyone who needs real answers from a government agency — about their own records, their neighborhood, or a decision that affected them — will find the tools here.
Nonprofit Researchers
Policy researchers and advocacy staff can build multi-agency FOIA campaigns to gather the primary-source evidence their work depends on.
Pro Se Litigants
People navigating court disputes without an attorney can use FOIA to build a documentary evidence file before — or instead of — expensive legal discovery.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Demetrius Demetrius
If you've ever hit a wall with a government agency — been told "we don't have that," handed a response full of black bars, or simply met with silence — you know the feeling. It's not just frustrating. It's disempowering. You know there are documents out there that explain what happened, who made the decision, and why. And you know you're being kept from them.
I built this course because that wall isn't as solid as they want you to believe. The Freedom of Information Act — and its state-level equivalents — gives ordinary people genuine legal leverage over government agencies. But that leverage only works if you know how to use it. Most people don't, not because they aren't smart enough, but because nobody ever showed them how. The system counts on that.
What I teach here is the same process that gets results: identifying the right agency, writing a request that's scoped correctly so it can't be brushed aside, following up with the kind of paper trail that creates accountability, and fighting back when agencies deny or stall. Every module is built around what you'll actually encounter — including the frustrating parts — with the exact language and tactics that move things forward.
The hardest thing I had to unlearn when I started working with public records was the assumption that I needed a lawyer's permission to use a law that was written for the public. You don't. You need a clear process, the right words, and the confidence to follow through. That's what this course gives you.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it: some agencies drag their feet, some appeals take time, and some fights require patience. But there is a system, and it works — when you work it correctly. By the time you finish this course, you'll know that system cold. You'll know which agencies to target, how to write requests they can't legally ignore, how to decode what comes back, and how to build what you've gathered into something you can actually use.
Come in knowing nothing about FOIA. Leave with a skill set that lasts a lifetime — and records that tell the truth.
— Demetrius Demetrius
Start your journey today
Join get instant access — learn at your own pace with an AI coach in your corner.
$1,997/mo
Recurring billing · cancel anytime
Secure checkout · Instant access
- 6 modules, 20 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed