Dear Anonymous,

Ridgewood Public Schools has received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on March 13, 2021. The official Records Custodian, Scott T. Bisig, received your OPRA request on March 15, 2021. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is March 24, 2021. This response to your request is being provided to you on the [5th] business day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.

Your OPRA request seeks access to the following:

Any and all records maintained by the Custodian of Records for The Ridgewood Public School District that contain the word(s) "homeschool" or "homeschooling" or "homeschooled" or "homeschooler".

Your request is invalid under OPRA. Specifically, there is no date range for any of the records you have requested. Absent a specific date or range of dates, a request is overly broad and invalid. See Love v. Spotswood Police Department, GRC Complaint No. 2014-223 (May 2015). In addition, you have failed to identify with reasonable clarity the specific records sought. New Jersey courts have consistently held that “OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of an agency’s files.” See MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of ABC, 275 N.J. Super. 534, 549 (App. Div. 2005). Consequently, a proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting all of an agency’s documents. See Bent v. Twp. of Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005).

Accordingly, please clarify your request to identify the specific records you are seeking so that the District may conduct a search. Please provide the requested clarification by the close of business on May 26, 2021. Upon receipt of your clarification, the District will advise you in writing of the anticipated response time. If a clarification is not received, your OPRA request will be deemed answered and closed.

March 24, 2021

Dear Anonymous,

Ridgewood Public Schools received your clarified Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on March 22, 2021. As the official Records Custodian, I received your OPRA request on March 22, 2021. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is March 31, 2021. This response to your request is being provided to you on the 2nd business day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.

The following records are being provided in their entirety as required by law and are responsive to your request.

1. The current policy(ies) and/or procedure(s) applicable to students who unenroll in a Ridgewood Public School with intent to homeschool.

The district Homeschooling Policy is #9270. All policies are available on our district website: www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us under Our District/Board of Education/Board Policies.

2. Also, (if available) documents containing current policy(ies) and/or procedure(s) that cover what, if any educational resources the District makes available to current homeschooled students"

There are no additional policies and/or procedures that cover what, if any educational resources the district makes available to current homeschooled students.

If a family wishes to withdraw their child for homeschooling, they complete a withdrawal form with their home school. The home school notifies our office and we send out the following resource information:
New Jersey Department of Education Frequently Asked Questions on Homeschooling

https://www.state.nj.us/education/genfo/...

We also send a link to our curriculum site should the family wish to use them as a reference in planning their child's educational program:

https://ridgewood-public.rubiconatlas.or...

This information is being transmitted to you via OPRAmachine, as per your request. There is no cost associated with this request.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the [insert name of agency] to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Sincerely,

Scott T. Bisig, M.Ed.
Business Administrator
Ridgewood Public Schools
[email address]