Right to Know

As of January 1, 2009, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires government agencies, including school districts, to comply with the new regulations as set forth by the Right-to-Know Law Act 3 of 2008.  The new law fundamentally changes the way people access public records.

To submit a request for information to the South Side Area School District, a United States citizen must:

  • Do so in writing with sufficient specificity to enable the District to ascertain which record is being requested.

  • Use the form provided by the District (Request Form - PDF) or the form provided by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which can be found at this link: Standard Right-to-Know Law Request Form

Submit the form to the Open Records Officer in one of four ways:

  • In person at the Administrative Offices - 4949 State Route 151, Hookstown, PA 15050

  • By mail to the same address, to the attention of the Open Records Officer.

  • By email to Alan Fritz:  afritz@sssd.k12.pa.us

  • By fax to: (724) 573-0414

The complete policy of the South Side Area School District Board of Directors relative to Right-To-Know Requests is available for review in our District office.

Regulations, Policies and Procedures

  1. The open-records officer shall receive requests submitted to the agency under this act, direct requests to other appropriate persons within the agency or to appropriate persons in another agency, track the agency's progress in responding to requests and issue interim and final responses under this act.

  2. Upon receiving a request for a public record, legislative record or financial record, the open-records:

  • Note the date of receipt on the written request.

  • Compute the day on which the five-day period under section 901 will expire and make a notation of that date on the written request.

  • Maintain an electronic or paper copy of a written request, including all documents submitted with the request until the request has been fulfilled. If the request is denied, the written request shall be maintained for 30 days or, if an appeal is filed, until a final determination is issued under section 1101(b) or the appeal is deemed denied.

The Open Records Officer is Mr. Alan Fritz, Superintendent (724) 573-9581.