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Last modified: August 23, 2024

Policy No. 7040: Records Access and Management/GRAMA

Purpose and Philosophy

This policy provides guidelines to manage, classify, access, preserve, and dispose of District records in compliance with applicable Utah State laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA); and to provide public access to District records in accordance with state laws and regulations while protecting individual rights of privacy.

Definitions

“Record” or “Records” includes a book, letter, document, paper, map, plan, photograph, film, card, tape, recording, electronic data, or other documentary material regardless of physical form or characteristics that is prepared, owned, received, or retained by the District, and the information is reproducible by photocopy or other mechanical or electronic means. Drafts, personal notes, and personally owned documents are not records.

Records Officers

  1. The Superintendent designates “Records Officers” who will be responsible to create retention schedules and respond to requests for district records. 
  2. The Business Administrator, Deputy Superintendent and Director of Communications are designated as “Records Officer” as defined in Utah Code Section 63G-2-103. Designated records officers can assign other employees to assist in responding to requests specific to other district departments.

Responsibilities of Records Officers

Each Records Officer will perform the duties and responsibilities set forth in Utah Code Section 63G-2, et seq. and review and respond to a request for access to records (“GRAMA request”). GRAMA requests shall be coordinated through the Records Officers and legal counsel as necessary.

GRAMA Request

ll GRAMA requests must be submitted using the Utah Open Records Portal.  The GRAMA request must contain the necessary information on the requestor and a specific description of the records being requested.

Records Classification

  1. Records Officers, with any necessary assistance from legal counsel, will be responsible to evaluate and classify records under their supervision as set forth in Utah Code Section 63G-2- 2. 307.
  2. A record shall be classified under one of the following categories:

Record Access

  1. GRAMA Requests will be evaluated by Records Officers and appropriate district staff to determine whether the records exist and can be provided. Records Officers may delegate other staff members to compile allowable records.
  2. Approved GRAMA requests shall be provided in a timely manner in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-2-204.
  3. All GRAMA requests shall be responded to and processed by e-mail or through the Open Records Portal.

Fees

  1.  A fee may be charged for the District’s actual cost of duplicating a requested record and also for personnel time in compiling and obtaining the record as follows (Utah Code Section 63G-2-203):
    • A copy fee of ten (10) cents per page for each single sided copy.
    • A copy fee of fifteen (15) cents per page for each double-sided copy.
    • A fee of twenty-two dollars ($22.00) per hour for District personnel time may be charged for searching, formatting, manipulating, tailoring, summarizing, and compiling a record, when such activities exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
  2. The District may require pre-payment from a requestor if:
    • The fees to produce the record are expected to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00).
    • The requester has not paid fees from previous requests.
  3. The District may not charge fees for:
    • Reviewing a record to determine whether it is subject to disclosure, except as otherwise permitted by Utah Code Section 63G-2-203
    • In person inspection of the record by the requestor 
    • The first quarter hour of staff time spent in responding to a request, except as otherwise permitted by Utah Code Section 63G-2-203.

Appeals

  1. If a requester is dissatisfied with the Records Officer’s decision, the requester may submit a written appeal to the Superintendent according to time limits and provisions of Utah Code Ann., Section 63G-2-401.
    • If the requestor is dissatisfied with the decision of the Superintendent, the requestor may file an appeal to the State Records Committee in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-2-403, or petition for judicial review in the district court as provided by Utah Code Section 63G-2-404.
  2. An individual may contest the accuracy or completeness of a record in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-2-603. 

Records Retention

The District shall retain records according to the schedule established by the State Records Committee in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-2-604.

Student Records

All student records are designated as “education records” and the disclosure of such education records is not governed under GRAMA but under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. Section 1232(g); 34 C.F.R. Section 99, et seq.; and 34 C.F.R. Section 300, et seq.). The District may not release information related to educational records without parental consent, except as otherwise provided in FERPA.

Copyrighted or Patented Materials

Any record which is copyrighted, either by formal filing under federal copyright laws or by informal claim of copyright, or which is covered by a patent, trademark, or other protected designation, shall not be copied or provided to any person without a valid order of a court ordering such disclosure or written permission from the author of the record. References: Utah Governmental Records and Access Management Act (63G-2-101 through 63G-2-804.

References

Approval by the Board of Education

  • August 14, 2012
  • Revised: March 12, 2013
  • Revised: June 2023

Procedures and Forms

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