Open arms, open records: how a school district responds to requests for public information says much about trust and confidence

School Administrator, June, 2002 by Connie J. Blaney

"When there are delays, we try to communicate frequently with the person requesting the data to let them know the status of their request," said Nora Carr, assistant superintendent for public information in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school district. "In general, I think community members and the media have a very different view of what is responsive and timely than we do," she said.

Most public institutions designate a timeframe that complies with their state's open records act. When additional time is needed to gather the materials, they submit in writing an explanation for the delay.

Norman Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Siano encourages school leaders to be accessible, open and honest with the public. As CEO, Siano sets high expectations for district staff to be knowledgeable of the open records law and to comply in an appropriate, efficient and timely manner. "It is in our best interest to be conscientious public servants and to assure citizens that we are not only keeping the letter of the law but also fulfilling its spirit by being helpful, friendly and courteous," he said.

In the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Frank Kwan, director of communications, provides guidelines for his staff on record requests. His agency must respond to public requests within 10 calendar days of receipt of the request. "The main point we try to stress is that the documents belong to the public (with some specific exceptions), and we should structure our record keeping to ensure there is access," Kwan said.

When the guidelines were put into operation, Kwan held training sessions with the business staff and school principals. New central administrators also received training. He emphasized that the open records act differs from state to state. "It is vital that school employees understand their state's open records act. Every district needs in-service training on working with the news media and public on these types of requests," Kwan said.

"Our biggest challenge is wide-ranging, broad requests that commit significant hours of staff time to research," he said.

Increasingly districts are handling politically motivated, time-consuming requests that take staff members many hours to complete. If a response has to be created that will take an inordinate amount of time, then school boards should adopt policies that address hourly rates, material fees and a timeline and process for completing these requests.

"Although we are in a business of responding to the community, we must remain focused on our purpose and main job responsibility--the education of our students," Kwan said.

Request Process

School records that must be open to the public are legally defined as public records. The Ohio Revised Code defines a public record as any record that is kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township and school district units. The Oklahoma Opens Record Act defines records to include any book, paper, photograph, microfilm, data files created by or use of computer software, computer tape, disk and record, sound or film recording, video record or other material regardless of physical form or characteristic.