To better serve the community and achieve greater transparency in government, School District 300 offers Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) forms and documents *ONLINE* as a public courtesy. This program truly goes above and beyond what the law requires, and it has received early praise from the Illinois Attorney General's Office. The online FOIA program makes District 300 a state leader in public access to information.

The online program's features include:

• Downloadable form for requesting documents
• All District 300 documents provided in response to FOIA requests (within 2 business days of their completion), beginning with those requests received in September 2007
• Summary reports to the Board of Education of recent FOIA requests and their status
• Helpful guides from the Illinois Attorney General's Office regarding your rights under FOIA and the Illinois Open Meetings Act

1. Print the District 300 FOIA Request Form
2. Complete and sign your request form
3. File your signed FOIA request in one of the following ways:
   • Scan and e-mail it to foia@d300.org
   • Or, fax it to 847-551-8413 (New Fax Number 5/15/2008)
   • Or, mail or deliver it to:
     Communication Services, School District 300, 300 Cleveland Ave., Carpentersville, IL 60110

Click here for a schedule of the District copy fees.

All District 300 responses to FOIA requests received since September 1, 2007 can be accessed by clicking in the blue Resources button at the top right of this page. Summary reports of FOIA requests and their status are submitted to the Board of Education at regular Board meetings, and can also be accessed by clicking in the Resources button.

Citizens have a right to access public records of their governmental bodies, including school districts. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) gives members of the public the right to file a request with a governmental body for access to specific public records. The Act aims to help ensure open, honest government, based on this right and balancing it with the public body's need to efficiently conduct the people's business.

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires public bodies to make public records available to anyone for inspection or copying. However, to allow governmental bodies to operate efficiently and to protect personal privacy, the Act exempts (excludes) specific types of records from public release, with some general examples being medical records, student records, personnel files, test questions and answers, security plans, and the minutes of closed session meetings not yet approved by Board vote for release.

The public body must respond in writing to each written request for records within 7 working days. It must give the requestor written notice of any existing records relevant to the request, and, if any of those records are exempt from release, the reason(s) for the exemption. Also, if within those 7 working days the public body denies the request, it must likewise notify the requestor in writing and cite the reason(s).

Under specific circumstances, the Act allows the public body to extend the response time another 7 working days, through written notification to the requestor. If that extension expires without response from the public body, the request is considered denied.

The requestor has the right to appeal the public body's response to any request. In District 300, appeals must be addressed to the Board of Education President, School District 300, 300 Cleveland Ave., Carpentersville, IL 60110.

More in-depth information about the rights of citizens and public bodies under FOIA is available through the Illinois Attorney General's Guide to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140)
To continue learning about open government, you are welcome to read the the Illinois Attorney General's Guide to the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120)