Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law ("RTKL") can be an effective tool of government transparency, so that Pennsylvanians can request and receive records from state and local governments showing precisely what the government is doing. However, it is also a complex law that contains strict deadlines and numerous exemptions. To try to make the process accessible to the public, the Office of Open Records ("OOR"), a state entity that is charged with administering the RTKL and hearing appeals, has created a RTKL Citizens' Guide and has various powerpoint presentations about how to use the RTKL.
Those are available on the OOR website:
We encourage you to review those resources to learn how to use the RTKL.
In June 2022 the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Office of Open Records gave a joint presentation, hosted by the Jenkins Law Library, "Pennsylvania's RTKL 101." It addressed basics about how to submit and appeal requests, common exemptions, and best practices so be successful.
Watch the presentation on YouTube
You can also find the PowerPoint accompanying this presenation below.
