Open Records Requests
What is a public record? *
The Georgia Open Records Act, § 50-18-70, et seq, outlines the process for how members of the public can request and inspect governmental records. According to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 (b)(2), the term "public record" includes "all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer based or generated information, data, data fields, or similar material prepared and maintained or received by an agency or by a private person or entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of an agency or when such documents have been transferred to a private person or entity by an agency for storage or future governmental use."
Not all governmental records are public records. No public officer or agency must prepare a new report, summary, or compilation if no such record exists when a member of the public submits an Open Records Request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (j). Even if a record exists at the time of the request, state law may treat some or all of the information contained in such record as exempt from disclosure or confidential.
*(https://sos.ga.gov/page/
How do I submit an Open Records Request?
To submit an Open Records Request to the Lee County Board of Education, please utilize the webform on this page. These submissions will then be reviewed by our Communications Department who handles these requests.
Once you submit your request, you will receive a response to your request within three business days (during normal hours) following the department's receipt of your request. If the records exist but are not readily available, you will receive a response from the Communications Department including a detailed description of the time and resource cost-estimate for their release.
The Lee County Board of Education operates 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. The school system is closed on state holidays, school breaks, and emergency closures.
After you have submitted your request, the Communications Department will contact you with next steps and possible costs associated with your request.
Time and Cost
Under Georgia law, the Lee County Board of Education may impose a reasonable charge for the search, redaction, and production or copying cost of records responsive to an Open Records Request. The time and cost will be calculated by using the hourly salary of the lowest paid employee qualified to conduct the research for your specific request, with no charge for the first fifteen minutes of employee time expended.
In addition to charges for the search, redaction, and production of responsive records, the Board of Education will impose a fee for the copying of records or data at $.10 cents per page, or in the case of other documents, the actual cost of producing the copy. For electronic records, the requestor will be charged the actual cost of the media on which the records or data are produced. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (c).
If the estimated cost for production of the records exceeds $500.00, the Lee County Board of Education will insist on pre-payment before beginning search, retrieval, review, or production of the records and may require pre-payment for a new request if the requestor has not paid for a prior Open Records Request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (d). If payment is needed to fulfill the request, the requestor will be contacted by the Communications Department to establish a method of payment.
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