BUSINESS
AND OPERATIONS:
1. Definitions
Public information means information that is
collected, assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection
with the transaction of official business by the school, for the school, and to
which the school owns or has a right of access.
2. Availability
Public information is available to the public at a
minimum during the school’s normal business hours.
3. Categories of Public Information
The following categories of information are public
information and not excepted from required disclosure unless they are expressly
confidential under other law:
A. A
complete report, audit, evaluation, or investigation made of, for, or by the school,
except certain law enforcement and prosecutorial information as provided by
Tex. Gov’t Code § 552.108;
B. The name,
sex, ethnicity, salary, title, and dates of employment of each employee and
officer of the school;
C. Information
in an account, voucher, or contract relating to the receipt or expenditure of
public or other funds;
D. The
name of each official and the final record of voting on all proceedings of the school;
E. All
working papers, research material, and information used to estimate the need
for or expenditure of public funds or taxes by the school, on completion of the
estimate;
F. A
description of the school’s organization and where, from whom, and how the
public may obtain information, submit information or requests, and obtain
decisions;
G. A
statement of the general course and method by which the school functions are
channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of all formal
and informal policies and procedures;
H. A
rule of procedure, a description of forms available, or the places at which
forms may be obtained, and instructions relating to the scope and content of
all papers, reports, or examinations;
I. A
substantive rule of general applicability adopted or issued by the school, and
a statement of general policy or interpretation of general applicability
formulated and adopted by the school;
J. Each
amendment, revision, or repeal of information described in subsections (F)-(I)
hereof;
K. All
final opinions and orders issued in the adjudication of cases;
L. A
policy statement or interpretation that has been adopted or issued by the school;
M. Administrative
staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;
N. Information
regarded as open to the public under the school’s policies;
O. Information
that is in a bill for attorney’s fees and that is not privileged under the
attorney-client privilege;
P. Information
that is also contained in a public court record;
Q. A
settlement agreement to which the school is a party.
4. Confidentiality of Personal
Information
A. Each current
or former employee or official of the school shall choose whether to allow
public access to the information in the custody of the school that relates to
the person’s address, telephone number, or Social Security number, or that
reveals whether the person has family members.
B. Each current
and former employee and official shall state that person’s choice as to
disclosure to the main personnel officer of the school in a signed writing not
later than the 14th day after the date on which:
(1) The employee begins employment with the school;
(2) The official is elected or appointed; or
(3)
The former employee or official ends service with the school.
C.
If a current or former employee or official fails to
specify his/her choice, the information is subject to public access. However, the employee or official may open or
close public access to the information at any time by making a written request
to the main personnel officer.
D. Personal
information of peace officers, county jailers, employees of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice, and commissioned peace officers is confidential
and may not be disclosed if the person so chooses and informs the school. An election as to confidentiality remains
valid until rescinded.
5. Education Records
Educational records may only be released in conformity
with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
6. Information Excepted from Required
Disclosure
A. The
school, or its officer for public information, may voluntarily make part or all
of its records available to the public, unless the disclosure is expressly
prohibited by law or the records are confidential.
B. The
following categories of information are excepted from disclosure to the public:
(1) Information
considered confidential by other law, either constitutional, statutory, or by
judicial decision;
(2) Information
in a personnel file, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, including transcripts from an
institution of higher education. This
exception does not cover the degree obtained or the curriculum on a transcript
in the personnel file;
(3) Information
relating to litigation of a civil or criminal nature to which the school is or
may be a party, or to which an officer or employee of the school, as a
consequence of the person’s office or employment, is or may be a party, but
only if the litigation is pending or reasonably anticipated at the time the school’s
public information officer receives the request;
(4) Information
that, if released, would give advantage to a competitor or bidder. Information of this type is excepted from
disclosure notwithstanding that it falls into a category of public information
described above;
(5) Information
relating to the location of real or personal property for a public purpose
prior to public announcement of the project; or appraisals or purchase price of
real or personal property for a public purpose prior to the formal award of
contracts for the property;
(6) A
draft or working paper involved in the preparation of proposed policies;
(7) Information
that the school’s attorney is prohibited from disclosing because of a duty to
the school under the Texas Rules of Civil Evidence, the Texas Rules of Criminal
Evidence, or the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, or
information prohibited from public disclosure by a court order;
(8) Under
certain circumstances, information held by a law enforcement agency or
prosecutor that deals with:
(a) The
detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime; and
(b) An
internal record or notation of a law enforcement agency or prosecutor
maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement or
prosecution.
Basic
information about an arrested person, an arrest, or crime is not protected by
this exception;
(9) Private
correspondence or communications of an elected office holder relating to
matters the disclosure of which would constitute an invasion of privacy;
(10) A trade
secret obtained from a person and privileged or confidential by statute or
judicial decision;
(11) Commercial or
financial information for which it is demonstrated, based on specific factual
evidence, that disclosure would cause substantial competitive harm to the
person from whom the information was obtained;
(12) A memorandum
or letter that would not be available by law to a party in litigation with the school;
(13) Information in a student record unless
requested by:
(a) Educational institution personnel;
(b) The student
involved or the student’s parent, legal guardian, or spouse; or
(c) A person
conducting a child abuse investigation pursuant to the Family Code provisions;
(14) Test
items developed by a state-funded educational institution, a licensing agency,
or governmental body;
(15) A
record of the school library that identifies or serves to identify a person who
requested, obtained, or used a library material or service unless the record is
disclosed because:
(a) The
library system determines that disclosure is reasonably necessary for the
operation of the library and the record is not otherwise confidential; or
(b) Other
law requires disclosure of the information;
(16) The
name of an applicant for the position of School Director is excepted from
disclosure except that the board must give public notice of the name or names
of the finalists being considered for the position at least 21 days before the
date of the meeting at which a final action or vote is to be taken;
(17) A
driver’s license record or other personal identification document issued by an
agency of the state may only be released pursuant to disclosure provisions of
the Transportation Code;
(18) An
informer’s name or information that would substantially reveal the identity of
an informer, unless:
(a) The
informer is a student or former student and the student or former student, or
legal guardian, or spouse of the student or former student consents to
disclosure; or
(b) The
informer is an employee or former employee who consents; or
(c) The
informer planned, initiated, or participated in the possible violation.
An “informer” is a person who has furnished a report
of another person’s possible violation of criminal, civil, or regulatory law to
the school or the proper regulatory enforcement authority;
(19) A
credit card, debit card, charge card, or access device number that is
collected, assembled, or maintained by or for the school is confidential;
(20) An
electronic mail address of a member of the public that is provided for the
purpose of communicating electronically with the school is confidential and not
subject to disclosure unless the member of the public affirmatively consents to
its release;
(21) Information
that relates to computer network security or to the design, operation, or
defense of a computer network, including vulnerability reports;
(22) Information
in a commercial book or publication purchased or acquired by the school for
research purposes, if the book or publication is commercially available to the
public. The school is not required to
make copies of commercially available information, but the school shall allow
the inspection of information in a book or publication that is made part of,
incorporated into, or referred to in a rule or policy of the school.
7. Officer for Public Information
The
School Director is designated as the officer for public information. Each officer of public information shall:
A. Make
public information available for public inspection and copying;
B. Carefully
protect public information from deterioration, alteration, mutilation, loss, or
unlawful removal;
C. Repair,
renovate, or rebind public information as necessary to maintain it properly;
D. Prominently
display a sign prescribed by the General Services Commission (GSC) containing:
(1) Basic
information about the rights of the requestor;
(2) The
responsibilities of the school; and
(3) The
procedures for inspecting or obtaining a copy of public information;
E. Place
the informational sign where it is plainly visible to:
(1) Members
of the public who request public information in person; and
(2) Employees
of the school whose duties include receiving or responding to requests for
public information.
8. Procedures Related to Access
A. The
school may promulgate reasonable rules of procedure under which public information
may be inspected and copied efficiently, safely, and without delay.
B. The
officer for public information shall promptly produce public information for
inspection, duplication, (or both) on application by any person to the officer.
Compliance with this policy may be by
providing the public information for inspection or duplication in the offices
of the school or by mailing them to the requestor, subject to any applicable
charges.
C. If
the requested information is unavailable at the time of the request because it
is in active use or in storage, the officer for public information shall inform
the requestor in writing and set a date and hour within a reasonable time when
the information will be available for inspection or duplication. If the officer cannot produce the requested
information within 10 business days after the date of the request, the officer
shall so inform the requestor in writing and schedule a date and hour, within a
reasonable time, when the information will be made available for inspection or
duplication.
D. The
officer of public information or designee shall not make any inquiry of a
requestor except:
(1) To
establish proper identification;
(2) To
clarify the request;
(3) To
discuss how large requests might be narrowed; or
(4) To
establish that the requestor is eligible to receive the information if the
request relates to motor vehicle records.
The school may not inquire into the purpose for which
information will be used.
E. The
officer for public information or the officer’s agent shall treat all requests
for information uniformly without regard to the position or occupation of the
requestor, the person on whose behalf the request is made, or the status of the
individual as a member of the media. Furthermore,
the school shall give to a requestor all reasonable comfort and facility for
the full exercise of the right outlined in this policy.
F. If
the requested information exists in an electronic or magnetic medium, the
requestor may request a copy either on paper or in an electronic medium, such
as on diskette or on magnetic tape. The school
shall provide a copy in the requested medium if:
(1) The
school has the technological ability to produce a copy in the requested medium;
(2) The
school is not required to purchase any software or hardware to accommodate the
request; and
(3) Provision
of a copy of the information in the requested medium will not violate the terms
of any copyright agreement between the school and a third party.
If the school is unable to comply with a request to
produce a copy of information in a requested medium for any of the reasons
described in this policy, the school shall provide a paper copy or a copy in
another medium that is acceptable to the requestor. The school is not required to copy information
onto a diskette provided by the requestor but may use its own supplies.
G. Consent
for the release of information excepted from disclosure but available to a
specific person because of a special right of access, must be in writing and
signed by the specific person or the person’s authorized representative. If the school determines that information
subject to a special right of access is exempt from disclosure under an
exception, then the school shall submit a written request for a decision to the
attorney general within 10 days of refusing the request and before disclosing
the information.
An individual under 18 years of age may consent to the
release of information under special right of access only with the additional
written authorization of the individual’s parent or guardian. Furthermore, a person adjudicated incompetent
to manage his/her own affairs, or for whom an attorney ad litem has been appointed, may consent to the release of special
right of access information only by written authorization of the designated
legal guardian or attorney ad litem.
H. If
responding to a request will require programming or manipulation of data, and
compliance is not feasible, or the information can only be made available at a
cost, the officer shall provide a written statement to the requestor within 20
days of the request with the following information:
(1) A
statement that the information is not available in the requested form;
(2) A
description of the form in which the information is available;
(3) A
description of any contract or services that would be required to provide the
information in the requested form;
(4) A
statement of the estimated cost of providing the information in the requested
form, as determined in accordance with the rules established by the GSC; and
(5) A
statement of the anticipated time required to provide the information in the
requested form.
The school may have an additional 10 days to provide
the statement if it provides written notice to the requestor within the initial
20 days that more time is needed. The school
shall establish policies that assure the expeditious and accurate processing of
requests for information that require programming or manipulation of data. The policies shall provide for the
maintenance of a file containing all written statements issued under this policy
in a readily accessible form.
9. Repetitious/Redundant
Requests
The school is not required to respond to
repetitious or redundant requests by providing access to the information. If the school determines the requestor has
already been given access to or provided a copy of requested information on a
previous occasion, the school may elect to certify to the requestor that copies
of all or part of the requested information were previously furnished or made
available to the requestor. The
certification must be made free of charge and include:
A. A
description of the information for which copies have been previously furnished
or made available to the requestor;
B. The
date that the school received the requestor’s original request for that
information;
C. The
date that the school previously furnished copies of or made available copies of
the information to the requestor;
D. A
certification that no subsequent additions, deletions, or corrections have been
made to that information; and
E. The
name, title, and signature of the officer for public information or the his/her
agent making the certification.
10. Charges
for Providing Copies of Public Information
A. General Rule
The charge for providing a copy of public
information shall be an amount that reasonably includes all costs related to
reproducing the public information, including costs of materials, labor, and
overhead. If a request is for 50 or
fewer pages, the charge for providing the copy of the information may not
include costs of materials, labor, or overhead, but shall be limited to
photocopying costs, unless the pages are located in two (2) or more separate
buildings or in a remote storage facility. If the charge for providing a copy of public
information includes costs of labor, the requestor may require the school to
provide the requestor with a written statement as to the amount of time that
was required to produce and provide the copy. The statement must be signed by the officer
for public information or the officer’s agent, and the signor’s name must be
typed below the signature. A charge may
not be imposed for providing the written statement.
B. Required
Itemized Estimates of Charges
If the charge is to exceed $40, the school
must provide the requestor with a written itemized statement that details all
estimated charges that will be imposed, including any allowable charge for
labor or personnel costs. If an
alternative less costly method of viewing the records is available, the
statement must include a notice that the requestor may contact the school
regarding such alternative method. The school
must inform the requestor of the duties imposed on the requestor by this policy
and give the requestor the information needed to respond including:
(1) That
the requestor must provide the school with a mailing, facsimile, or electronic
mail address to receive the itemized statement and indicate the requestor’s
choice of which type of address to provide;
(2) That
the request is considered automatically withdrawn if the requestor does not
respond within 10 days in writing to the itemized statement and any updated
itemized statement in the time and manner required;
(3) That
the requestor may respond to the statement by delivering the written response
to the school by mail, in person, by facsimile if the school is capable of
receiving documents in that manner, or by electronic mail if the school has an
electronic mail address.
If the school later determines that the estimated
charges will exceed the charges detailed in the written itemized statement by
20% or more, the school shall send to the requestor a written updated itemized
statement that details all estimated charges that will be imposed, including
any allowable charges for labor or personnel costs. If the requestor does not respond in writing
to the updated estimate in the time and manner described above, the request is
considered to have been withdrawn by the requestor.
C. Required Bonds
(1) The officer
for public information may require a deposit or bond for payment of anticipated
costs for the preparation of a copy of public information if the officer has
provided the requestor with the required written itemized statement detailing
the estimated charge and if the estimated charge exceeds:
(a) $100
if the school has more than 15 full-time employees; or
(b) $50 if the school has fewer than 16
full-time employees.
(2) A bond may
not be required for copies of public information that the requestor may make in
the future, but a bond may be required for unpaid amounts in relation to
previous requests for public information if the amount exceeds $100. The officer for public information or his/her
agent may not seek requests for payment of those unpaid amounts through any
other means.
(3) A request
for a copy of public information is considered to have been received by the school
on the date the school receives the deposit or bond for payment of anticipated
costs or unpaid amounts if the officer for public information requires a
deposit or bond as outlined in this policy.
D. Cost Guidelines
The school shall use the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission (TBPC) rules to determine the charges for providing copies of public
information and to determine the charge, deposit, or bond required for making
public information that exists in a paper record available for inspection,
except to the extent that other law provides for charges for specific kinds of
public information. The charges for
providing copies of public information may not be excessive, and may not exceed
the actual cost of producing the information or form making public information
that exists in a paper record available.
The school may determine its own charges for producing public
information, but may not charge an amount that is greater than 25% more than
the amount established by the TBPC, unless it requests an exemption.
E. Requests
for old Information and Large Requests
(1) If
the school has 16 or more full-time employees, the school may require a deposit
or bond for the payment of anticipated personnel costs only if:
(a) The
information requested is older than five (5) years or fills six (6) or
more archival boxes; and
(b) The
officer for public information estimates that more than five (5) hours will be
required to make the information available for inspection.
(2) If
the school has fewer than 16 full-time employees, the deposit, or the bond
authorized above may be required only if:
(a) The
public information is older than three (3) years or fills three (3) or
more archival boxes; and
(b) The officer for public information estimates
that more than two (2) hours will be required to make the information available
for inspection.
F. Waiver/Reduction
of Charge
The school shall provide a copy of public information
without charge or at a reduced charge if the school determines that waiver or
reduction of the charge is in the public interest because providing the copy of
the information primarily benefits the general public.
G. Overcharges
A person who overpays for a copy of public information
because the school refuses or fails to follow the rules for charges adopted by
the GSC is entitled to recover three (3) times the amount of the overcharge if
the school did not act in good faith in computing the costs.
H. When
Inspection Only is Requested
A charge may not be imposed for making available for
inspection any public information that exists in a paper record unless the
requested page contains confidential information that must be edited from the
record before the information can be made available for inspection.
11. Withholding
Information
A. Request
for Attorney General Decisions
(1) If the school wishes to withhold from
public disclosure information it considers to be within one of the exceptions,
it must ask for a decision from the attorney general concerning whether the
information is within that exception. The
school must ask for the decision and state the exceptions that apply not later
than 10th business day after the request is received by mail, facsimile, or
electronic mail. If the school requests
a decision, it must provide to the requestor, not later than the 10th business
day after the request is received, a written statement that the school wishes
to withhold the information and has requested a decision from the attorney
general. The school must also provide to
the requestor a copy of the school’s written communication to the attorney
general with any of the requested information redacted.
(2) If
the school requests an attorney general decision, it must, within 10 days after
receiving the request, submit the following to the attorney general:
(a) Written
comments stating the reasons why the stated exceptions apply that would allow
the information to be withheld;
(b) A
copy of the written request for information;
(c) A
signed statement as to the date on which the written request for information
was received by the school or evidence sufficient to establish the date; and
(d) A
copy of the specific information requested, or submit representative samples of
the information if a voluminous amount of information was requested.
(3) The
school must release the requested information and is prohibited from asking for
a decision from the attorney general if:
(a) The
school has previously requested and received a determination from the attorney
general concerning the precise information at issue in a pending request; and
(b) The attorney general or a court
determined that the information is public information to which no exception
applies.
B. Presumption
That Requested Information is Public
(1) Unless
the information is confidential by law, the public information officer may
disclose the requested information to the public or the requestor before a
final determination has been made by the attorney general or a court with
jurisdiction.
(2) If the school does not request an
attorney general decision as provided under this policy, and provide the
requestor with the information requested, as outlined in subparagraph (11)(A)(2)
above, the information requested in writing is presumed to be subject to
required public disclosure and must be released unless there is a compelling
reason to withhold the information.
C. Issuance
of Attorney General Decisions
The attorney general shall render the decision not
later than the 45th working day after the date the attorney general received
the request. The attorney general may
extend the period for response by an additional 10 working days by informing
the school and the requestor, during the original 45-day period, of the reason
for the delay.
12. Criminal
Violations
A. Destruction, Removal, or Alteration of
Public Information
A person commits an offense if the person
willfully destroys, mutilates, removes without permission, or alters public
information. An offense hereunder is a
misdemeanor punishable by:
(1) A fine
of not less than $25 or more than $4,000;
(2) Confinement
in the county jail for not less than three (3) days or more than three (3) months;
or
(3) Both
the fine and confinement.
B. Distribution of Confidential
Information
A person commits an offense if the person
distributes information considered confidential under the terms of this policy.
An offense hereunder is a misdemeanor
constituting official misconduct punishable by:
(1) A fine
of not more than $1,000;
(2) Confinement
in the county jail for not more than six (6) months; or
(3) Both
the fine and confinement.
C. Failure or Refusal to Provide Access to
or Copying of Public Information
(1) The officer for public information or his/her
designee commits an offense if s/he fails or refuses to give access to, or to
permit or provide copying of, public information to a requestor as provided by
this policy. An offense hereunder is a
misdemeanor constituting official misconduct punishable by:
(a) A fine
of not more than $1,000;
(b) Confinement
in the county jail for not more than six (6) months; or
(c) Both the
fine and confinement.
Tex.
Gov’t Code § 552.353(e)-(f).
(2) It
is an affirmative defense to prosecution for failing to provide proper access
that the officer for public information reasonably believed that public access
to the requested information was not required, and that the officer:
(a) Acted
in reasonable reliance on a court order or a written interpretation of Tex.
Gov’t Code, Chapter 552 contained in an opinion of either a court of record, or
of the attorney general issued in response to an opinion request.
(b) Requested
a decision from the attorney general and the decision is pending; or
(c) Not
later than the 10th calendar day after the date of receipt of a decision by the
attorney general that the information is public, and filed a proper legal
action against the attorney general seeking relief from compliance with the
attorney general’s decision, and such petition is pending.
(3) It
is an affirmative defense to prosecution for failing to provide proper access
to public records that the defendant is the agent of an officer for public
information and that the agent reasonably relied on the written instruction of
the officer for public information not to disclose the public information
requested.