BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT 501
4340
BOARD POLICY
Mindful of the right of individuals to privacy and of the desirability of efficient administration of the District, full access to information concerning the administration and operations of the District shall be afforded to the public as provided by the Public Records Act (Chapters 42.17 and 42.56 RCW). Public access to district records shall be afforded according to the procedures developed by the Superintendent and periodically reviewed by the Board.
“School District records” include any writing, printing, photocopying, photographing, etc., containing information relating to the conduct of operations and functions of the District which is prepared, owned, used, or retained by the District. “Writing” means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photocopying, photographing, and every other means of recording any form of communication on representation, including letters, e-mails, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, motion picture, film and video recordings, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums, diskettes, sound recordings and other documents including existing data compilations from which information may be obtained or translated. The District is not required to create a new record nor create customized databases to satisfy a request. “School District records” do not include the personal notes and memoranda of staff which remain in the sole possession of the maker and which are not generally accessible or revealed to other persons.
The Superintendent shall serve as or appoint a public records officer to serve as the point of contact for members of the public in requesting disclosure of public records and to oversee the district’s compliance with the public records disclosure requirements of the Public Records Act. He/she shall authorize the inspection and copying of the District’s records only in accordance with the criteria set forth in this policy.
In accordance with the Public Records Act, the District shall make available for public inspection and copying all District records, or portions, except those which contain information exempt from disclosure by the Public Records Act, Chapters 42.17 and 42.56 RCW, or by other applicable law. A list of possible “other statute” exemptions can be found on the Web site of the Municipal Research Services Center at www.mrsc.org/Publications/prdpub04.pdf
If the District denies any written request, in whole or in part, for inspection of any public record, the District shall include a written statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation for so doing. If only a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, the public records office will redact the exempt portions, provide the nonexempt portions, and indicate to the requester why the portions of the record are being redacted. No request shall be denied solely on the basis that the request is overbroad.
The District may inquire into the purpose for which a record is requested. The District shall not provide access to lists of individuals which the requesting party intends to use for commercial purposes or which the District reasonably believes will be used for commercial purposes if such access is provided. The District may require the requesting party to verify in writing that the requested information will not be used for commercial purposes.
In the event that the requested records contain information that may affect rights of others and be exempt from disclosure, the public records officer may, prior to providing the records, give notice to others whose rights may be affected by the disclosure. Such notice should be given so as to make it possible for those other persons to contact the requestor and ask him or her to revise the request, or, if necessary, seek an order from a court to prevent or limit the disclosure. The notice to the affected persons will include a copy of the request.
No fee shall be charged for the inspection of public records. The School District may impose a reasonable charge for providing copies of public records and for the use of equipment to copy public records, which charges shall not exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the agency for its actual costs incident to such copying.
Legal Reference: Ch. 42.17 RCW; Ch. 42.56 RCW; Ch. 44-14 WAC
Cross Reference: District Policy #3600 — Student Records
Adopted: 5-28-92
Revised: 6-22-06