Public Records

As a public entity, Springfield Public Schools (SPS) is committed to ensuring access to information concerning district actions, policies and the details of educational and business operations, as required by state law (Chapter 192 of the Oregon Revised Statutes) and School Board Policy: KBA-AR.

When submitting your request, be as specific as possible about the records that you’re seeking. If you’re unsure what records exist, you can call or email to discuss your request.

Please Note: Student Records are not public records. For student records or transcripts requests, please contact the school that your student last attended.

 

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST FORM

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Timeline for Processing Requests

*For your convenience, we have simplified the Public Records Request language. Please refer to School Board Policy KBA-AR for full details. 

In compliance with District policy and Oregon law, SPS will acknowledge receipt of the request within five business days. If the District is the custodian of the record, the District has up to 10 business days to complete the response. Please note: the law also provides exceptions to the 15-business day deadline for any of the following reasons:

• The staff necessary to complete a response are unavailable (on leave or not scheduled to work).

• Compliance would demonstrably impede the District’s ability to perform other necessary services.

• The District is simultaneously processing a high volume of requests.

If the District cannot complete the work within the 15 business-day deadline, the Compliance Officer will notify the requesting party in writing that the request is still being processed and provide a reasonable estimated date of completion.

Clarification of Public Records Requests

If the District receives an unusual request or the scope of the request is unclear, the Compliance Officer may request additional clarification before formally responding to the request.

Non-Responsive Requesters

If a requesting party fails to respond to inquiries for clarification, cost estimates or any other communication from the District within 60 days, the status of the request will be changed to "non-responsive."

Non-responsive requests may be resubmitted and will be processed as new requests.

Cost 

Oregon Public Records law allows public agencies to recover their “actual cost” in fulfilling a public records request. “Actual cost” may include a charge for the time spent by SPS staff in locating the requested records, reviewing the records to redact exempt material, copying records or sending records by special methods. Public agencies may charge for search time even if they fail to locate any records responsive to the request or even if the records located are subsequently determined to be exempt from disclosure.

If there is a fee for providing the records, the Compliance Officer will provide the requesting party with written notice of the estimated amount of the fee.

The requesting party may decide to pay the fee; in which case, the District would generate an invoice for completing the public records request. The requesting party must pay the fee before the District fulfills the request. If the request takes less than the estimated time to fulfill, the District will refund the difference to the requesting party.

The requesting party may decline to pay the fee; in which case, the District will close the request.

The requesting party may decide to request a fee waiver or reduction using the Fee Waiver Request form. Please do not submit a Fee Waiver Request form until the Compliance Officer determines what records exist that are responsive to your request and whether a fee will be charged.

The Compliance Officer will determine whether to grant your fee waiver request in accordance with factors detailed in the Attorney General's Public Records Manual. A decision will be made within five business days.

The Compliance Officer is always willing to work with you to narrow the scope of a request to facilitate processing and reduce or eliminate fees.