Norfolk Public Schools

NPS FOIA Officers:

• FOIA Officer: Dr. Doreatha White; Chief Strategy, Innovation, & Community Engagement Officer
• FOIA Officer: Mr. Fredrick D. Walker, Director of Communications & Community Engagement
• Asst. FOIA Officer: Ms. Madeline Curott, Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
• Asst. FOIA Officer: Ms. Taylor Henderson, Internal Comms. & Social Media Coordinator

Access to Records

1. Official records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act will be open to inspection and copying during the regular office hours of the Norfolk Public Schools’ central office, and within the time frame specified by the Freedom of Information Act for requesting and receiving access to inspect the records.

2. Unless otherwise specified by the Superintendent, inspection of records will take place at the central office of Norfolk Public Schools, and will not be removed from that site. Copies may be requested in lieu of or at the time of inspection, subject to the charges listed below. Nonexempt records maintained in an electronic database will be produced in any tangible medium or format identified by the requester that is regularly used in the ordinary course of business by Norfolk Public Schools, including delivering the records through an electronic mail address provided by the requester.

3. One of the following forms of photo identification must be presented (or a photocopy thereof must be provided) before any person will be allowed to inspect any records or receive copies of any records:

a. Press identification identifying requester as a representative of a newspaper or magazine with circulation in the Commonwealth, or of a radio or television station broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth, OR

b. Driver’s License or other official photo identification showing that requester is a citizen of the Commonwealth.

4. The Superintendent or a designee will be present during inspection or copying of records. A record of each inspection will be made, using form KBA-F2.

Responding to Requests

1. Promptly, but in all cases within five working days of the request, one of the following written responses will be provided to the requester:

a. The records (or copies thereof) will be made available for inspection.

b. The requested records will be entirely withheld because their release is prohibited by law or because the Virginia Freedom of Information Act gives their custodian discretion to withhold them. A written explanation identifying with reasonable particularity the volume and subject matter of the withheld records, and with respect to each category withheld, referencing the Code section containing the specific applicable exemption(s) will be included.

c. The requested records will be provided in part and withheld in part because the release of part of the records is prohibited by law or the custodian has exercised his discretion to withhold a portion of the records. A written explanation identifying with reasonable particularity the subject matter of the withheld portions and referencing, with respect to each category of withheld records, the specific Code section(s) which authorize the withholding of the records, will be included.

NOTE: The five-day period will begin on the first working day following the day the request is received by the central office, and will end at the close of business on the fifth working day following receipt of the request. Any time that elapses between the time the requester is notified of an advance cost determination pursuant to the procedures detailed below and the time that the requester responds to that notice will not be counted in calculating the five work days.

7 Day Extension

If the status of the records cannot be determined within the five-day period, or if it is practically impossible to provide the records within the five-day period, the requester will be notified of this fact and of the specific conditions which make a response within the five-day period impossible. Such notice will be provided within five working days of the request, and one of the three preceding responses will be provided within an additional seven-day period.

Costs Related to FOIA Request Processing

The following costs will be charged at the rates indicated, (not to exceed actual cost):

a. Staff member search time: charged by the quarter hour based on the employee’s hourly wage.

b. Computer search time: charged by the quarter hour based on the hourly wage of the employee performing the search

c. Computer printouts: charged at the rate of $0.05 cents per page

d. Photocopies (including those necessary to perform redactions): charged at the rate of $.05 cents per page

e. Incidental out-of-pocket costs necessary to assemble the records (e.g., phone, postage, or courier charges)

Requests Totaling $200+

If the requester has asked for an advance determination of the cost, or if the cost is expected to exceed $200.00, the requester will be notified in advance of the cost associated with the request.

If the cost of the request is determined to exceed $200.00, the school division will, before continuing to process the request, require the requester to agree to payment of a deposit not to exceed the amount of the advance determination. The deposit will be credited toward the final cost of supplying the requested records.

No further action will be taken until the requester responds, and the requester must agree to pay the estimated amount before any further processing of the request is performed.

Past Due Balances

Before processing a request for records, the Superintendent or designee may require the requester to pay any amounts owed to the School Board for previous requests for records that remain unpaid 30 days or more after billing.

Questions?

Contact us at FOIA@nps.k12.va.us