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Every Student Matters

Freedom of Information Law

What is a FOIL?

The Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), Article 6 (Sections 84-90) of the New York State Public Officers Law, provides the public right to access records maintained by government agencies with certain exceptions.

Record means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

The Eastport-South Manor School District shall accept written or electronic requests for the inspection and copying of records during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., excluding holidays). Records shall be made available for public inspection and copying at the District Office at the following address:

Eastport-South Manor School District
Administrative Office
149 Dayton Avenue
Manorville, NY 11949

Records can also be requested electronically by submitting the request online (click link) or by email at FOIL@esmonline.org.

Please be advised that records require review prior to disclosure. As a result, documents and records will not be immediately available.

FOIL Process
Within five (5) business days of the receipt of a written or electronic request for a record reasonably described, the District will send you a message either: making such record available; denying such request in writing; or furnishing an acknowledgment of the receipt of such request.

An acknowledgment message will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.

If the records you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for copies of records up 9”x 14”, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

  • an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record request
  • the actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and
  • the actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy

 

Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper, or USB.  Records are available for inspection, by appointment, on business days between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (excluding holidays) at the District Office at 149 Dayton Avenue, Manorville, NY 11949.  You may schedule an appointment for in-person inspection of records by calling 631-801-3001.

Right to Appeal

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination.  If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within 30 days of the response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response message you received along with your appeal message to:

Superintendent Joseph Steimel
Eastport-South Manor School District
149 Dayton Avenue
Manorville, NY 11949

Or via email to: FOIL@esmonline.org


Helpful Tips

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s website.

When submitting a FOIL request:

  • Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names, descriptions, etc. See suggested language for a FOIL request from the Committee on Open Government
  • Specify whether you would like to inspect the records or have copies of the records sent to you
  • If records are available, specify how you want them sent, i.e., via US mail, delivered electronically or fax. We may choose to send the records by U.S. mail, if you have requested a large volume of records, for security or other important reasons. We will notify you of any charge for reproducing such records before they are sent to you
  • Include your e-mail, mailing address and fax number, as well as a telephone number where you can be reached during business hours, if it is necessary to clarify your request
  • Please note that the agency is not required to create a new record in response to FOIL requests