Code No. 901.1
COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM
The Board of Directors recognizes the value of a communications program to provide effective two-way communications between the District and the community. The Superintendent of Schools shall implement a communications program which strives to meet the following objectives:
Date of Review: July 16, 2018
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Date of Revision: February 9, 2004
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Legal References:
279.8, 280.12, Code of Iowa; 281 I.A.C. 12.3(1)
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543457
DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
Code No. 901.2
NEWS MEDIA RELATIONS
The Board of Directors supports open, fair and honest communications with the news media while at the same time recognizing the privacy rights of individuals.
Members of the news media are encouraged and welcome to attend open Board meetings. Members of the news media seeking information about the District should direct their inquiries to the Superintendent of Schools. In the event that another administrator or staff member is contacted, that person shall notify the Superintendent. The Board President and the Superintendent of Schools shall be the spokespersons for the Board and the District, and shall accurately and objectively provide appropriate information and the position of the Board of Directors in response to inquiries.
Other staff members may report on individual student achievements and awards (e.g., music, speech and sports awards) with District guidelines and confidentiality requirements.
Date of Review: July 16, 2018
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Date of Revision: February 9, 2004
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Legal References:
21.4, 22.7, 279.8, Code of Iowa
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543458
DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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NEWS RELEASES
It shall be the policy of the Board of Directors to have news releases prepared regarding District matters. The Superintendent of Schools and/or Board President shall determine when a news release about internal District and Board matters will be made. It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent and/or Board President to approve news releases originating within the District, except that other staff members may release information on individual student achievements and awards (e.g. music, speech and sports awards) in accordance with District guidelines and confidentiality requirements.
The Superintendent and/or Board President or his/her designee may hold a news conference or respond to a request for an interview with the news media on behalf of the District.
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Date of Revision: October 8, 2012
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Legal References:
21.4, 22.7, 279.8, Code of Iowa
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896342
DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
Date of Review: July 16, 2018
Code No. 901.4
RELEASE OF DISTRICT INFORMATION
The Board Secretary shall act as custodian of public records of the District and shall be responsible for implementing the requirements of the Iowa public records law.
Records shall be open for public examination, except that records required or authorized to be kept confidential by law shall not be made available for public examination. District officials may seek a written opinion of counsel as to whether a record is a public or confidential record prior to releasing the document.
Pursuant to Iowa law, the Board of Directors has determined that the following types of records shall remain confidential and shall not be released to the public in order not to jeopardize the safety of District students, employees, and visitors of District property: security procedures, emergency preparedness procedures, evacuation procedures, security codes and passwords, rescue procedures, procedures for bomb or other catastrophic threats, and tests and evaluations of such procedures.
Persons wishing to examine public records shall contact the Board Secretary and make arrangements. The Board Secretary shall make arrangements as soon as reasonably practicable, giving consideration to the number of documents that are requested, the ease of retrieval, and other necessary work to be accomplished. Public records may be examined during hours in which the business office is open, which shall typically be from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Mondays-Fridays, exclusive of designated holidays. No person shall destroy, disorganize, alter, or damage any record or remove the record from the building. Any person may obtain a copy of the record. A schedule of fees for the costs of supervising the examination and for copying records shall be established.
The District is not required to create any records or documents pursuant to the Iowa public records law or this policy. The District shall notify the person making a request when information must be abstracted from public records in order to create a record. The District official or employee may agree to perform this service pursuant to a schedule of established fees.
Date of Review: July 16, 2018
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Date of Revision: October 8, 2012
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Legal References:
Chapter 21, Chapter 22, 279.35, 279.36, 291.6, 291.7, 298.6, Code of Iowa; 281 I.A.C. 12.3(1), 12.8
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896343
DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Reg. 901.4R1
REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC RECORDS
Purpose. This regulation implements Iowa Code chapter 22 regarding access to public records. The purpose of this regulation is to facilitate public access to open records, while safeguarding records against damage or destruction. Open records are those records, documents, tapes, recordings or other information stored or preserved in any medium of or belonging to the District which are not otherwise authorized or required by law to be kept confidential. Records authorized but not required by law to be kept confidential may also be released upon approval of the Superintendent of Schools or upon approval of the Board of Directors.
Location. A request for access to a record should be directed to the Board Secretary or to the particular District office where the record is maintained (for example, to the building principal’s office). If the location of the record is not known by the requester, the request shall be directed to the Board Secretary, 510 Winnebago Street, Decorah, Iowa 52101; telephone 563-382-4208; facsimile 563-387-0753. If a request for access to a record is misdirected, District personnel will promptly forward the request to the appropriate person within the District.
Hours. Open records shall be made available for examination during customary office hours.
Requests. Requests for access to open records may be made in person, in writing (including email), or by telephone. If the request is made in person, the requester shall not be required to identify himself/herself, except insofar as to meet security procedures of the building. Written or telephone requests shall include the name, address and telephone number of the person requesting the record to the extent necessary for the District to respond to or to seek further clarification. All requests shall identify the records in sufficient detail to enable the District to reasonably identify the requested records. A person shall not be required to give a reason for requesting an open record.
Response to Request. Access to an open record shall be promptly provided or denied, except where circumstances, such as the size or nature of the request makes prompt access infeasible or for other extenuating circumstances, such as the custodian of the record is not then available. Access to an open record may be delayed for one of the purposes authorized by Iowa Code section 22.8(4) or 22.10(4) (for example, to ascertain if a record is a public record or to seek opinion of counsel). The custodian of the record shall promptly give notice orally or in writing to the person requesting the record of the reason for the delay and an estimate of the length of the delay.
Copying. A reasonable number of copies of an open record may be made in the District’s office. If copying equipment is not available in the office where an open record is maintained, the custodian shall permit its examination in that office and arrange to have copies promptly made elsewhere.
Security of Records. No person may, without permission from the custodian of the record, search or remove any record from District files. Examination and copying of records shall be supervised by the custodian of the record or a designee of the custodian. Records shall be protected from damage and disorganization.
Fees. No fees shall be charged for a reasonable number of copies of current agendas for meetings of the District’s Board of Directors, for publications the District designates for dissemination to the public free of charge as long as they are still available, or for forms necessary for a person to transact business with the District or to receive an education (such as employment application forms, student enrollment forms, free and reduced priced meal applications, open enrollment or voluntary permit forms).
Copies of records may be made for members of the public on District copy machines or from electronic storage systems at cost. When the mailing of copies of records is requested, the actual costs of such mailing may also be charged to the requester.
An hourly fee may be charged for actual District expenses in retrieving, supervising the examination and copying requested records, which is in addition to the copy fee. In addition, costs for retrieval and copying of public information stored in electronic storage systems may be charged to the requester.
The District is not required to extract, assimilate, or interpret information or data, or to create public records; however, if the District agrees to perform any of these functions, the person making the request may also be charged an hourly fee.
Advance Deposits. When the estimated total fee chargeable exceeds $25.00, or when a requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged under this regulation, the record custodian may require a requester to make an advance deposit to cover all or a part of the estimated fee.
Fee Schedule.
Photocopy Fee.
1 – 50 pages: No charge
More than 50 pages: 10 cents per page
(including for pages 1-50)
Retrieval, Supervision, Copying Fee.
1 - 30 minutes: No charge
More than 30 minutes: $30.00 per hour, rounded to the nearest ¼ hour (including for first 30 minutes)
Electronic Storage System Retrieval. Actual costs
Mailing Fee.
If more than $1.00: Actual costs
Other Fees Permitted By Law Actual costs
In making a determination for charges, a series of requests from one person or organization in a 30 day period or a series of requests from persons in a single organization may be aggregated.
To the extent feasible, requests for public records (other than for records required to do business with the District, such as employment applications and student enrollment forms and excepting requests for current Board agendas and for publications designated by the District for public dissemination) will be documented. Documentation serves as confirmation of the District's compliance with the law and with District policy and procedures. The documentation shall not include the name of the person requesting the document if the person requesting the documents has not disclosed his or her name.
Date of Review: July 16, 2018
Date of Revision:
July 16, 2018
DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Page 3 of 3
NEWSPAPER FOR PUBLISHING
At the annual meeting of the Board, newspaper(s) of general circulation in the District shall be designated as the official newspaper(s) of the District for publishing proceedings and legal notices as required by law.
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Date of Revision: October 8, 2012
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Legal References: 24.9, 73A.2, 73A.12, 73A.18, 257.18, 279.35, 279.36, 298.18, Chapter 618, Code of Iowa
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896349
DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS |