Right-to-Know Law Requests
Under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), members of the public may request and access public records of government agencies, including the Bristol Township School District.
Requesting District Records
To request public records from the Bristol Township School District, a Requester must complete the Standard Right-to-Know Law Request Form prepared by the Office of the Open Records (OOR) and submit the Request Form to the District’s Agency Open Records Officer.
Any request not submitted using the Standard Right-to-Know Law Request Form will not be accepted by the District. The District also will not accept verbal or anonymous requests for records. The Requester must be a legal resident of the United States.
The Standard Right-to-Know Law Request Form can be accessed online at the OOR’s website:
https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/Documents/RTKL/RTKRequestForm.pdf
The RTKL Request Form must be completed in its entirety, including the name, mailing address and email address of the Requester, regardless of the manner in which the Request Form is submitted (i.e. in person, physical mail or email) or the type of copies preferred by the Requester (i.e. physical, emailed or in person inspection). The request should identify or describe the requested record in sufficient detail for the District to be able to ascertain which record is being requested. The RTKL request should not be used to seek answers to questions.
The RTKL Request Form must be addressed to the District’s Agency Open Records Officer and may be submitted by email, physical mail or in person at the District’s Administrative Offices.
Agency Open Records Officer
Dr. Christopher Polzer
Bristol Township School District
Administration Building
5 Blue Lake Rd.
Levittown, Pa 19057
Phone: 215-943-3200
[email protected]
After filing a request, a response will be issued within 5 business days. If further time is needed for the District to respond to the RTKL Request, the Agency Open Records Officer will provide the Requester a written notice of extension.
In granting access to public records, fees may be charged. The fee schedule may be accessed at https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/FeeStructure.cfm
The District’s Right-to-Know Policy
The RTKL Statute: https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/Documents/RTKL/PA_Right-To-Know_Law.pdf?pdft=20220418 ]
For more information about the RTKL, please visit the Office of Open Records website at https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/.
Filing an Appeal
If a RTKL request is denied (or deemed denied), the Requester may file an appeal, in writing, to the Office of Open Records within 15 business of the date (or mailing date) of the denial. The Requester must include with the appeal the RTKL request, the response denying the request (if one exists), and any extension notice. The Requester must also address the grounds raised by the District for denying the request and the grounds that the Requester relies upon in asserting that the record is a public record. An appeals officer from the OOR will determine if the record(s) is subject to public access.
The appeal may be filed to the Office of Open Records through its online appeal form, by email, fax or in person at:
Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-2234
Phone: 717-346-9903
Fax: 717-425-5343
Email: [email protected]
For further information on how to file an appeal with the OOR, visit https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/Appeals/HowToFile.cfm.