Guidelines
Following are guidelines are established by the Spring Grove Area School District with regards to Act 3 of 2008, the new Right-To-Know law.

Appointment of a Right-To-Know Officer

The Spring Grove Area School District shall appoint an open records officer to handle all compliance issues related to the Right-To-Know law. The Right-to-Know Officer (“RTK Officer”) shall:

1. Receive Right-To-Know requests submitted to the Spring Grove Area School District.
2. Direct Right-To-Know requests to other appropriate persons within the Spring Grove Area School District or to appropriate persons in another agency.
3. Track the progress of the Spring Grove Area School District in responding to requests in a timely manner.
4. Issue interim and final responses under this act.

Right-To-Know Requests

• All Right-To-Know requests shall be submitted in writing to:  Right-To-Know Officer, Spring Grove Area School District, on the District’s Right-To-Know Written Request Form (see below), or the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, Standard Right-To-Know Request Form. 

 Written requests may be:

•  E-mailed to openrecords@sgasd.org
•  Faxed to (717) 225-6028, or
•  Sent by U.S. Mail to 100 E. College Avenue, Spring Grove PA  17362, or
•  Delivered in-person to 100 E. College Avenue, Spring Grove, PA  17362.

If the requestor wishes to pursue the relief and remedies provided for in this act, the request for access must be in writing.

• The Spring Grove Area School District will not accept verbal or written anonymous requests.
• A written request for information under the Right-To-Know Act does not need to include any explanation of the requestor’s reasons for requesting the information or the intended use of the information unless otherwise required by law.

Responses to Written Requests

The Spring Grove Area School District will respond to all Right-To-Know requests, in writing, by issuing one of the following responses:

• Granting the request;
• Granting in Part/Denying in Part; or
• Denying the request

The District may also issue a response that the record(s) requested cannot be produced within the five-day required period and exercise the ability to get a 30-day extension period to fulfill the request.

Fee Structure

Section 1307 of the Right-To-Know law requires the office of Open Records to establish a fee structure for Commonwealth Agencies and Local Agencies. The law requires that the Office of Open Records review the fee structure biannually. Any updates to the fee structure based upon these reviews will be posted to their website. The Spring Grove Area School District will review any changes in the fee structure promulgated by the Office of Open Records and incorporate the changes as necessary to remain in compliance. The following fee structure will be in place:

Copies: (A “photocopy” is either a single-sided copy or one side of a double-sided black-and-white copy of a standard 8.5” x 11” page)

Certification of a Record:

Specialized documents: For example, but not limited to, blue prints, color copies, non-standard sized documents     

Facsimile/Microfiche/Other Media:

Redaction Fee:

Conversion to Paper:

Postage Fees:

• Inspection of Redacted Records: If a requestor wishes to inspect rather than receive a copy of a record and the record contains both public and non-public information, the Spring Grove Area shall redact the non-public information. The Spring Grove Area School District may not charge the requestor for the redaction. However, the Spring Grove Area School District may charge for the copies it must make of the redacted material in order for the requestor to view the public record. The fee structure outlined above will apply. If, after inspecting the records, the requestor chooses to obtain the copies, no additional fee may be charged.
• Fee Limitations: Except as otherwise provided by statute, the law states that no other fees may be imposed unless the Spring Grove Area School District incurs costs for complying with the request, and such fees must be reasonable. No fee may be imposed for the Spring Grove Area School District’s review of a record to determine whether the record is a public record, legislative record or financial record subject to access in accordance with this Act. No fee may be charged for searching for or retrieval of documents. The Spring Grove Area School District may not charge staff time or salary for complying with a RTK request.
• Prepayment: Prior to granting a request for access in accordance with this Act, the Spring Grove Area School District may require the requestor to prepay an estimate of the fees authorized under this section if the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed $100.
• Note: Once the request is fulfilled and prepared for release, the Spring Grove Area School District will follow the recommendation of the Office of Open Records to obtain the cost of the records prior to releasing the records. This recommendation is designed to avoid situations in which the agency provides the records and the requestor fails to submit payment.

Right-To-Know Officer:  Business Manager
Mailing Address:           Spring Grove Area School District 
                                   100 E. College Avenue
                                   Spring Grove, PA  17362
Phone:                         (717) 225-4731 x3019
Fax:                             (717) 225-6028
Email:                          openrecords@sgasd.org

 Download Standard Right to Know Request Form (print, complete and return)