Various requests for public records from your school district
Dear West Windsor-Plainsboro School District,
In accordance with the New Jersey open public records Act, we hereby request for response to the following request hold
1) Please provide documents indicating the total number of students enrolled in all public schools and charter schools in your District for the 2022-2023 school year;
2) Please provide documents indicating the total number of students whose parents have availed themselves of the opt-out provisions of N.J.S.A.18A:35-4.7 and opted their child out of all or a portion of the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE mandate or curriculum promulgated in accordance thereto for the 2022-2023 school year. Please provide documents indicating the number of opt-outs by individual grade levels.
3) Please provide a copy of the document(s) used by the district by which parents can opt-out or opt-in their children from all or a portion of the curriculum mandated by the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE in your district.
4) Please provide documents showing how you implemented the “parent opt-out” for the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE and Health & Physical Education curriculum and a copy of the document by which parents can opt-out their children from all or a portion of the curriculum mandated by the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE in your district. Including but not limited to forms, flyers, emails to parents and/or a website.
4) Please provide documents showing how the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE mandate was implemented in your district, for example: a) in the classroom; b) at home by parents; c) as a homework assignment; d) in an assembly; e) as a webinar; f) being taught on the last day of school; g) any methods but with elements removed; h) not at all.
6) Copies of the BOE policies and regulations regarding the composition of your “Book Review Committee,” as well as policies controlling book reviews or book removal requests.
7) Copies of any book removal or review requests made by residents of your school district since November 1, 2022 to present.
8) If any books have been removed from curriculum or from public school libraries as a result of a demand for removal or by the Board action in accordance with your book removal policy, copies of all documents relating to the review or removal.
9) Any documents, policies or regulations relating to the review of current textbooks or the review of new textbooks or textbooks being considered for purchase.
10) Copies of all legal bills from the Board Attorney or from any outside council from January 1, 2023 to present
Yours faithfully,
Michael Gottesman, Individually and as Founder of the
New Jersey Public Education Coalition
Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will
return Monday, Aug. 7. If this is an emergency and you need immediate
assistance, please contact me via cell phone.
--
Kia Bergman
Director of Communications
West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District
[West Windsor-Plainsboro School District request email]
(609) 716-5000 ext. 5046
Click here <https://translate.google.com/> to read this message in your
preferred language
Dear Mr. Gottesman:
The District is in receipt of your OPRA request received August 7, 2023.
Under OPRA, the District must reply within seven business days, or by
August 16, 2023 or inform the requestor that the District will require a
reasonable extension. Because this request has ten subparts each requiring
multiple searches as well as the sensitive nature of many of these
documents which may contain private student information or attorney work
product, the District will require an additional 8 business days to
fulfill your request. As a preliminary manner, some of your requests refer
to information that is currently publically available.
Request #1: Please provide documents indicating the total number of
students enrolled in all public schools and charter schools in your
District for the 2022-2023 school year;
Response: The total number of students enrolled is 8940.5. Enrollment data
for the District can be found on the [1]NJDOE website via the 2022-23 Fall
Enrollment Reported Data.
Request #6: Copies of the BOE policies and regulations regarding the
composition of your “Book Review Committee,” as well as policies
controlling book reviews or book removal requests.
Response: Links to responsive documents are as follows:
• [2]Policy 9130 - Public Complaints and Grievances
• [3]Regulation 9130 - Public Complaints and Grievances
Request #9: Any documents, policies or regulations relating to the review
of current textbooks or the review of new textbooks or textbooks being
considered for purchase.
Response: Links to responsive documents are as follows:
• [4]Policy 2510 - Adoption of Textbooks
• [5]Regulation 2510 - Adoption of Textbooks
• [6]Policy 2530 - Resource Materials
• [7]Regulation 2530 - Resource Materials
The District will respond to the remainder of your request as soon as
possible and at the latest by August 28, 2023. If there is any need for
further delay, the District will contact you immediately with that
information.
Sincerely,
Kia Bergman
Custodian of Records
Dear Mr. Gottesman,
This email is in response to your Open Public Records Act Request that was
emailed after hours on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, and received by me, the
custodian of records, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. An extension request was
emailed Aug. 11 with a deadline of Aug. 28. Please see our final responses
and supporting documents linked below. This request is now complete and
closed.
OPRA defines a “government record” of a public entity as “any paper,
written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph,
microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored
or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device,
or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file in the
course of his or its official business.” N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. Accordingly,
the Board is required to produce only those records which it maintains in
the official course of business and which are not otherwise exempt from
production. Pursuant to the definition of a government record, a public
entity is not required by OPRA to research information and/or create
records that do not exist in response to OPRA requests. See e.g., Mag
Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J.
Super. 537 (App. Div. March 2005).
Your specific requests as well as a response to each follow.
1) Please provide documents indicating the total number of students
enrolled in all public schools and charter schools in your District for
the 2022-2023 school year;
Response: As previously provided, the total number of students enrolled is
8940.5. Complete enrollment data for the District can be found on the
[1]NJDOE website via the 2022-23 Fall Enrollment Reported Data.
2) Please provide documents indicating the total number of students whose
parents have availed themselves of the opt-out provisions of
N.J.S.A.18A:35-4.7 and opted their child out of all or a portion of the
2020 NJSLS-CHPE mandate or curriculum promulgated in accordance thereto
for the 2022-2023 school year. Please provide documents indicating the
number of opt-outs by individual grade levels.
Response: Kindergarten: 0 students; Grade 1: 4 students; Grade 2: 8
students; Grade 3: 6 students; Grade 4: 3 students; Grade 5: 5 students;
Grade 6: 1 student; Grade 7: 4 students; Grade 8: 8 students; Grade 9: 0
students; Grade 10: 3 students; Grade 11: 3 students; Grade 12: 0
students; Total number of students in all grade levels: 45 students.
3) Please provide a copy of the document(s) used by the district by which
parents can opt-out or opt-in their children from all or a portion of the
curriculum mandated by the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE in your district.
Response: The Board’s responsive document is titled “Opt out form. pdf”
and linked here:
[2]https://comegnolawgrouppc-my.sharepoint.....
4) Please provide documents showing how you implemented the “parent
opt-out” for the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE and Health & Physical Education
curriculum and a copy of the document by which parents can opt-out their
children from all or a portion of the curriculum mandated by the 2020
NJSLS-CHPE in your district. Including but not limited to forms, flyers,
emails to parents and/or a website.
Response: The Board’s responsive document is titled “message to families”
and linked here:
[3]https://comegnolawgrouppc-my.sharepoint....
4) Please provide documents showing how the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE mandate was
implemented in your district, for example: a) in the classroom; b) at home
by parents; c) as a homework assignment; d) in an assembly; e) as a
webinar; f) being taught on the last day of school; g) any methods but
with elements removed; h) not at all.
Response: The District denies this portion of the request as overbroad.
Please identify a specific document. OPRA "is not intended as a research
tool ... to force government officials to identify and siphon useful
information." MAG Entm't, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375
N.J. Super. 534, 546-49 (App. Div. 2005). OPRA does not "authorize a party
to make a blanket request for every document" a public agency has on file.
Gannett New Jersey Partners L.P. v. County of Middlesex, 379 N.J. Super.
205, 213 (App. Div. 2005). Rather, a party requesting access to a public
record under OPRA must specifically describe the document sought.
6) Copies of the BOE policies and regulations regarding the composition of
your “Book Review Committee,” as well as policies controlling book reviews
or book removal requests.
Response: As previously provided, the links to responsive documents are as
follows:
• [4]Policy 9130 - Public Complaints and Grievances
• [5]Regulation 9130 - Public Complaints and Grievances
7) Copies of any book removal or review requests made by residents of your
school district since November 1, 2022 to present.
Response: The Board has no responsive records to this request.
8) If any books have been removed from curriculum or from public school
libraries as a result of a demand for removal or by the Board action in
accordance with your book removal policy, copies of all documents relating
to the review or removal.
Response: The Board has no responsive records to this request.
9) Any documents, policies or regulations relating to the review of
current textbooks or the review of new textbooks or textbooks being
considered for purchase.
Response: As previously provided, the inks to responsive documents are as
follows:
• [6]Policy 2510 - Adoption of Textbooks
• [7]Regulation 2510 - Adoption of Textbooks
• [8]Policy 2530 - Resource Materials
• [9]Regulation 2530 - Resource Materials
10) Copies of all legal bills from the Board Attorney or from any outside
council from January 1, 2023 to present
Reponse: Responsive documents are linked here and titled as follows:
[10]https://comegnolawgrouppc-my.sharepoint.....
• “CLG invoices (redacted).pdf”. I note that the “Redcation Key & Privilege Log.pfd” is also included in the file folder
• “M&W invoices_redacted to remove student personal identifiers and privileged attorney-client communications..pdf”. Please note the legal bills have been redacted to remove personal identifiers of students and privileged attorney/client communications.
• “West Windsor-Plainsboro BOE-12184-All Matters-Redacted”. I note the “WW-P Legal Bills Redaction Log (Jan-Aug2023)4882-1056-5499v1” is also included in the file folder.
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 District 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, or by e-mail at [11][email address], or at their website at
[12]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,
Kia Bergman
Custodian of Records
On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 3:47 PM Kia Bergman <[13][West Windsor-Plainsboro School District request email]>
wrote:
Dear Mr. Gottesman:
The District is in receipt of your OPRA request received August 7,
2023. Under OPRA, the District must reply within seven business days,
or by August 16, 2023 or inform the requestor that the District will
require a reasonable extension. Because this request has ten subparts
each requiring multiple searches as well as the sensitive nature of many
of these documents which may contain private student information or
attorney work product, the District will require an additional 8
business days to fulfill your request. As a preliminary manner, some of
your requests refer to information that is currently publically
available.
Request #1: Please provide documents indicating the total number of
students enrolled in all public schools and charter schools in your
District for the 2022-2023 school year;
Response: The total number of students enrolled is 8940.5. Enrollment
data for the District can be found on the [14]NJDOE website via the
2022-23 Fall Enrollment Reported Data.
Request #6: Copies of the BOE policies and regulations regarding the
composition of your “Book Review Committee,” as well as policies
controlling book reviews or book removal requests.
Response: Links to responsive documents are as follows:
• [15]Policy 9130 - Public Complaints and Grievances
• [16]Regulation 9130 - Public Complaints and Grievances
Request #9: Any documents, policies or regulations relating to the
review of current textbooks or the review of new textbooks or textbooks
being considered for purchase.
Response: Links to responsive documents are as follows:
• [17]Policy 2510 - Adoption of Textbooks
• [18]Regulation 2510 - Adoption of Textbooks
• [19]Policy 2530 - Resource Materials
• [20]Regulation 2530 - Resource Materials
The District will respond to the remainder of your request as soon as
possible and at the latest by August 28, 2023. If there is any need for
further delay, the District will contact you immediately with that
information.
Sincerely,
Kia Bergman
Custodian of Records