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Open Records office upholds H-S appeal for vaccination records

By Natalie Bruzda nbruzda@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read

The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) has granted an appeal filed by the Herald-Standard after the Uniontown Area School District (UASD) denied to supply vaccination information including the number of students whose parents have requested a philosophical exemption.

On March 2, the Herald-Standard sent a Right-to-Know request to the district seeking the information.

The UASD, however, did not respond to the request within the allotted five days.

In an email, district Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky, who is also the district’s Right-to-Know officer, wrote, “The records that you request do not exist in district files. Therefore, I am of the opinion that the district does not have to create documents that we do not have.”

In granting the appeal by the Herald-Standard, OOR Appeals Officer Jill S. Wolfe noted that the district “failed to provide any factual or legal support for denying access to responsive records. Based on the District’s failure to provide any evidentiary basis in support of denying access to records the District has not established that the records are exempt or do not exist.”

The Herald-Standard sought the information for a story outlining the number of students who may be affected if a bill aimed at closing the philosophical exemption to having children vaccinated becomes law in Pennsylvania.

The UASD has 30 days from the date of the ruling to either provide the requested information to the Herald-Standard or to file an appeal in Common Pleas Court.

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