Diversity, Equity, Inclusion materials (Niskayuna Central School District)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

All materials and correspondence between the district Board of Education, district Administration, district Equity Committee or Office, Faculty, Staff, Third Party Contractors and Consultants related to the following terms, subjects or concepts between April 2021 to the date this request is fulfilled:

Race
Anti-racism
Racism
Equity
Culturally Responsive
Decolonize
Diversity
Implicit Bias
Intersectionality
Microaggression
Oppression
Patriarchy
People of Color
Privilege(d)
Safe Space
Social Justice
Tokenism
White Supremacy

This request shall also include any teachings of such curriculum mentioned above by any faculty employed within the school district, third party contractors, consultants or other third parties invited by the school or agents of the school.

This request shall also include any documents or materials accessed by the school district, but stored on third party service providers on behalf of the district, and links/references/credentials for access to such materials if present in emails or electronic systems or files stored in browser caches, cloud storage (i.e. Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc), or local hard drives managed by the district. This request shall also include non-school email and texting services used by the district, board, administration and faculty to conduct activities and business related to the school district (i.e. Gmail, Outlook, etc).

This request shall also include any training material or supplemental information provided to district staff, whether required or suggested.

Please keep in mind, pursuant to the Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records (LGS-01): Any record listed in the LGS-01 Schedule for which a Freedom of Information (FOIL) request has been received should not be destroyed until that request has been answered and until any potential appeal is made and resolved, even if the retention period of the record has passed.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jackson Parker

I am writing to appeal the constructive denial of my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request submitted on March 5, 2023. The request sought all materials and correspondence related to diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts within the Niskayuna Central School District from April 2021 to the date the request is fulfilled.

As per the New York Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law §87(1)), an agency has five business days to respond to a written request for records. If more time is needed, the agency must state the reason for the delay and provide a date when the records will be available, which should not exceed twenty additional business days.

As of the date of this letter, I have not received a substantive response to my request. This failure to comply with the statutory time frame constitutes a constructive denial of my request, and I am therefore appealing this denial.

I kindly request that you fully comply with the FOIL and provide the requested records promptly. If access to the records I requested is denied upon this appeal, kindly provide a written explanation specifying the reasons for the denial.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Subject: Resubmission of FOIL Appeal for Records Related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Materials

I am writing to resubmit my appeal for the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request originally submitted on March 6, 2023. The request was acknowledged on April 4, 2023, with an anticipated response date of May 3, 2023. However, neither the request nor the initial appeal has received a response.

### Grounds for Appeal

1. **Failure to Acknowledge Appeal**: As per FOIL, agencies are mandated to acknowledge receipt of an appeal within ten business days. This has not been done, which is a violation of Public Officers Law § 89(4)(a).

2. **Failure to Respond by Stated Date**: The acknowledgment letter dated April 4, 2023, stated that a response would be provided on or before May 3, 2023. This deadline has passed without any communication, constituting a denial of access under FOIL.

3. **Public Interest**: The records requested pertain to diversity, equity, and inclusion, topics of significant public interest. The lack of response undermines the public's right to know and is contrary to the spirit of FOIL.

### Relevant Case Law and Advisory Opinions

1. **Matter of Hutchinson v. Annucci**: This case emphasizes the agency's obligation to respond within the statutory timeframe, which has not been met in this case.

2. **Orange County Publications v. Kiryas Joel Union Free School District**: This case highlights that a failure to reply is treated as a denial and an appeal can be filed.

I kindly request that you expedite this resubmitted FOIL appeal and proceed with the necessary actions to fulfill it as a matter of utmost urgency. Failure to do so may result in further legal action.