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KBA-2 PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW
(Public
Access to Records) GENERAL
The Since community involvement in the educational process requires knowledge of that process, it will be the policy of the Board that all facts and information kept or prepared on the activities of the public schools, except confidential information, as exempted by law, will be considered public information. Any citizen
may, during office hours and subject
to such regulation as the Superintendent may prescribe, have access to and
inspect the public records in the possession of the public schools using the
following procedures: DEFINITION Public Records are defined as specific,
pre-existing files, documents, or data in the School Department’s
possession. They are not information
that staff might have to gather or compile from numerous sources. Several
types of records, as defined below, are excluded from public review under the
Right to Know Law and other state or federal statutes. Examples of public
records include some correspondence, financial records such as purchase
orders and invoices, contracts with vendors, reports, and minutes of
meetings. AVAILABILITY Public records must be available for
inspection during normal business hours. Staff should make a reasonable
attempt to provide material when requested if it is readily available. Staff
members are not required to drop another customer or task to provide the
information. If a staff member is
unable to provide the information immediately, it will normally be provided
within five (5) business days. The individual requesting the information is
not required to give a reason to inspect the document that he/she is
requesting. Originals and one-of-a-kind documents must be
viewed in the presence of a staff member or copied for the customer in
accordance with the regulations below.
If an original document is lost or destroyed because it was released
to a customer, the employee who released it will be held responsible for the
loss. COPIES
Customers are to be permitted to obtain copies
of Public Records. The School
Department is permitted to charge a reasonable cost for producing the record.
This charge will, in most cases, be close to the actual cost of production of
the record. The price schedule is as follows: 1.
Photo Copies will be charged at 25
cents per side for letter or legal size, to cover the cost of paper, copy
machine operation, and staff time. 2.
Publications printed for public
distribution will be charged at 25 cents per page if they must be copied, or
at the actual cost of production if still in stock for distribution, unless
they were produced for free public distribution. 3.
Computer generated reports will be
charged at actual production cost. At the time of adoption of this policy,
the rate is $1 per page. 4.
Maps, prints and other large documents
are charged at the rate per square foot that the city pays its vendors to
produce such records. 5.
Any documents that have a charge fixed
by Statute or Ordinance will be charged at that rate.
EXCEPTION There shall be no charge to citizens for photo
copies of academic transcripts or other student records for themselves or
their own children. EXEMPT
RECORDS Certain documents are exempt from public view
under the law. These include all student records with personally identifiable
information and personnel records, except for directory information as
defined in Policies Employees are not required to create a record
where one does not
exist, nor are they required to create a format to provide a
record where it exists in a different
format in School Department files. This means that employees are not
required to do research to produce a record, they
are merely required to provide what already exists. WRITTEN
REQUESTS Generally, a written request is not required, however, in some circumstances a written request
is indicated. Written requests, when
required, do not need to be anything more than a handwritten, signed
statement detailing what is being requested.
Circumstances warranting written requests include, but are not limited
to the following: 1.
When very specific and detailed
information is needed in order to comply with the request. 2.
When the request is large and a
significant cost is anticipated for copying and/or staff research time. In these cases, the customer will be given
the employee’s best estimate of cost prior to filling the request. The customer should be informed at that
time that the estimate is not binding and that the actual cost may be higher
or lower than anticipated. 3.
When the employee, upon hearing the
request, believes that the document is exempt from disclosure. Adoption
Date: Amended: |