Book: Administrative Guideline Manual
Section: 8000 Operations
Title: ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS
Code: ag8310A
Status: Active
Adopted: April 1, 2006
Last Revised: August 27, 2012
8310A - ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS
The public records of the Corporation as defined in the Indiana Access to Public Records Act "APRA") shall be made available for inspection, making handwritten notes, and the purchase of copies unless covered by a mandatory exemption or a discretionary exemption is asserted by the Superintendent as permitted by Board Policy 8310.
Designation of Officers
The Superintendent shall be the Corporation's Public Access Officer ("PAO").
Procedures
The following procedures shall be followed responding to a request to inspect, copy from and/or purchase copies of Corporation public records:
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Requests to inspect or purchase copies of public records in the custody of the Corporation shall be submitted to the PAO by the employee receiving the request. An employee other than the PAO or Superintendent is not authorized to deny access to a record or record information. The PAO may require that the request be placed on a form prescribed by the Superintendent. Copies of the request form shall be available on the Corporation web site and shall also be available in the office of the Superintendent and PAO.
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A requesting party shall be required to describe the public record(s) sought with reasonable particularity. A request may be stated as a question, but a request phrased as a question shall be treated as a request for information containing an answer, and the Corporation shall not undertake to answer questions or create a record that does not exist at the time of the request, unless the PAO determines that creating a new record is the most cost effective response to a request. A requesting party may be asked to refine or restate their request to provide the "reasonable particularity" necessary to identify the records sought by the request, but with the exception of a request for a list of employees or students, a requesting party shall be required to state why they want the records requested. A request shall not lack reasonable particularity because it would result in the production of a large number or volume of records. The PAO or a Corporation employee acting at the direction of the Superintendent or PAO will determine and advise the requesting party whether the records specified in the request are available for inspection and copying.
When the requesting party is present in the Corporation office, makes the request by telephone, or requests enhanced access to a public record, a denial of disclosure by a public agency occurs at the earlier of the time any employee of the Corporation refuses to permit inspection and copying of the requested record, or twenty-four (24) hours elapse after the PAO refuses to permit the inspection and copying.
When a request is made by USPS mail, e-mail, or by facsimile, a request is denied if there is no response from the Corporation for seven (7) days from the date the Corporation received the request.
The initial response to a request required by these time limitations may be a preliminary or the final response of the Corporation to the requestor’s request, but an initial response shall acknowledge receipt of the request and describe the process that will be followed in responding to the request from that point forward.
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With respect to records which are determined by the PAO to be available, the PAO or a Corporation employee acting under the PAO’s direction will direct the requesting party to the place where the requested records may be inspected and will arrange for the preparation and certification of copies of requested records upon tender of fee computed pursuant to this administrative guideline and Board policy. The PAO will establish a time and date for inspection and copying the requested records.
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With respect to records the Corporation will assert are covered by a mandatory exemption covered by I.C. 5-14-3-4(a) or a discretionary exemption covered by I.C. 5-14-3-4(b), the PAO will prepare a written response which invokes the specific statutory exemptions to disclose for any records withheld pursuant to a specific statutory exemption.
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Where a search of records will be required and the search must be incorporated into the other duties of Corporation staff, the PAO’s response shall describe a schedule of the time Corporation employees will work on the search each work day until the response is completed in a written response to the requestor.
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Records may be inspected only at the Corporation office where they are regularly located or stored unless the PAO designates another place. No record may be removed from such a location without the approval of the PAO.
If a portion of the information in a record must be redacted to assert an exemption, the redaction shall be made on a copy of the record and the PAO shall review the redacted record before it is released to determine if any redaction necessary to protect exempt information has been completed. A Corporation employee designated by the PAO must be present throughout the inspection of any Corporation record. Preparation of copies for redaction and purchase by a requesting party shall be performed by a Corporation employee.
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Requests by mail for copies of Corporation records may be addressed to the PAO c/o the Corporation administration building.
Location and Time: Records shall be made available for inspection at a location in the Corporation designated by the PAO, during the regular Corporation business hours for that location.
© Neola 2012
