PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS
The California Public Records Act (CPRA) is a law enacted in 1968 to provide public access to the records of government bodies in California. The act allows individuals to review or obtain copies of public records maintained by state and local government agencies, unless the records are exempt from disclosure.
The following are guidelines for accessing public records from Carlsbad Unified School District.
TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT CAN BE REQUESTED
Responsive records to a public records request may include a wide variety of documents and other materials that were created or obtained by CUSD and are, at the time the request is filed, in CUSD's possession and control and not exempt from disclosure. The CPRA does not require a public agency to create a record that it is not in possession of at the time of the request. A public records request is different from a question or series of questions posed to CUSD. Therefore, the CPRA does not require CUSD to answer written or oral questions submitted by members of the public.
IDENTIFYING RECORDS
When requesting records, requesters should provide specific information about the records they seek, being as specific as possible in describing the record, the applicable dates, and the department/school that created and maintains the records. CUSD is available to assist requesters in making focused and effective requests.
EXEMPT RECORDS
Exemptions for certain records found in the CPRA and confidentiality or privilege recognized in other state and federal laws permit or require a public agency to withhold certain types of records or information from public records. The CPRA outlines various exemptions where information or records are withheld from disclosure to protect personal privacy, confidential information, and to provide a public agency with the ability to perform its assigned duties and functions in a reasonably efficient and effective manner. Examples of exemptions include student records, personnel and medical records (privacy laws), records falling under a legal privilege, certain preliminary drafts and notes, and circumstances where the public interest in disclosure is clearly outweighed by the public interest in nondisclosure.
SUBMITTING REQUESTS
All records requests should be submitted via email to pra@carlsbadusd.net or mailed to the CUSD District Office, addressed to the Personnel Department.
All public records requests and responses will be posted on the CUSD website. A public records request falls within the definition of a public record in Government Code 7920.530(a). However, the District will redact the contact information (phone number, address, email address) provided by the requester, if any, from its posting of the request on its website.
The District reminds parents and guardians that requests for their children’s records should be submitted pursuant to Education Code section 49069 (see Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5125) rather than under the CPRA to avoid the parent’s inadvertent disclosure of the child’s confidential educational information. The identity of a requester is not relevant to whether a record is disclosable under the CPRA.
The District must make public records available, upon request, in any electronic format in which it maintains the information or in a requested format if it has used the format to create copies for its own use or to provide to other agencies. Government Code section 7922.575(b)(2) permits the District to charge the requester for the cost to construct the record when the request requires data compilation or extraction to produce the record.
Upon receipt of a public records request, CUSD will respond within ten days. Please note, the ten-day period mentioned in the Government Code §7922.535 is not a deadline for producing records. Should the request be voluminous, or require research, or computer programming, CUSD may need a reasonable amount of time to research, review, and inspect records prior to release; therefore, it may take longer before the records can be made available. Upon receipt of your request, CUSD will make every effort to keep you apprised of response timeframes.
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