Sequoia Union High School District

Public Records Act Requests

The Sequoia Union High School District is committed to transparency and providing easy access to public records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA). District policy is outlined in Administrative Regulation and Board Policy 1340.

Requests should be submitted to the Public Information Officer via email at awilkie@seq.org or via the CPRA Request Form found here.

Pursuant to California Government Code Section 7920.530, a public record is defined as “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.” Public records requests may be used to obtain "records," which include a wide variety of documents and other materials (including print, photographic, and electronic formats) that were created or obtained by the organization and are, at the time the request is filed, in the organization’s possession and control.

Records subject to disclosure under the CPRA may include email or other communications from members of the public or which reference them. While the District reviews all responsive records to determine if this information should be disclosed, in many cases references to members of the public, or the content of their communications to the District are subject to disclosure. Permissible exemptions from disclosure include documents that invade an individual's right to privacy (e.g., privacy in certain personnel, medical, or student records) or hinder the government's need to perform its assigned functions in a reasonably efficient manner (e.g., maintaining confidentiality of investigative records, official information, records related to pending litigation, and preliminary notes or memoranda).

The request must be focused, specific, and clear enough so that the District can understand what record or records are being sought. When a record cannot be identified by name, the requestor should attempt to be as specific as possible in describing the record, based on its content, including the designation of any forms or reports with titles, the date or dates of the document, the author and addresses, if the item is a letter or memo, etc. If known, requesters should indicate the office, school site, or the department that created and maintains the records. The District is not required by law to create a record or list from an existing record. Copies of public records will not be provided if disclosure is exempt in accordance with law. Exempt records may include personal and/or confidential information.

Responding to Your Request

The District will make every effort to provide responsive records in a reasonable time. You will be notified within ten (10) days from the date of receipt of your request:

Whether the District has records responsive to your request and the page count and required payment, if applicable, to produce copies of such records, and/or
If the District has records responsive to your request, but which are exempt from disclosure and the reasons for exemption, and/or
In case the District requires an extension of time to determine whether it has records responsive to your request.

The District may extend the period to make this determination up to 24 days (the original 10 allotted plus 14 days) if there is a need to communicate with District office or school sites, examine voluminous records, communicate with others who have an interest in the records, or construct computer reports. The law requires that production be made in a "reasonable" amount of time, based upon the volume of the records requested and the necessary review process.

If your request was received after business hours or on a weekend or holiday, the next business day will be considered the date of receipt. The 10-day response period starts with the first calendar day after the date of receipt (Cal. Civ. Code § 10). If the tenth day falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day is considered the deadline for responding to the request (Cal. Civ. Code § 11). You will be contacted by the Public Information Officer if there are questions regarding your request.

The standard charge for physical copies of any specifically described and identified public record not exempt from disclosure is $0.10 per page. Records stored by the District in electronic format will be provided in the same electronic format. The District is not required to produce records in an electronic format when the requested records are not available in electronic format at the time of the request. Mailing charges will apply, if necessary. The Office of Business Services will provide an invoice for charges due. These charges are due and payable upon receipt of the invoice.

If your request is to inspect rather than receive copies, the Public Information Officer will contact you within the response period to schedule an appointment for a reasonable future date/time for the inspection of such records. This is necessary to allow time to gather and review documents for compliance within the provisions of the CPRA. Requests (inspection and copies) must be for records in the possession of, prepared, owned, used, or retained by the District (CA Gov. Code § 7920.530) and must be for clearly identifiable records.

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