Wheatland School District

The primary purpose of the Public Records Act is to give the public an opportunity to monitor the functioning of their government. In enacting the CPRA, the California Legislature stated that access to information concerning the conduct of the public's business is a fundamental and necessary right for every person in the State.

Through the PRA process. Wheatland School District maintains its commitment to transparency and openness. District policy is outlined in Administrative Regulation and Board Policy 1340.

Anyone can submit a Public Records request and there is no specific form that must be used to make a request. A request should be in writing, (preferable via email) to help reduce confusion about the records requested.

Public Records requests will be posted on the website as soon as we can complete the request. The information will not show who requested the information but will show what the specific request is, what the cost to the district is for the request, what the cost for copies would be to the requester (if any), and any correspondence regarding the request (names, email address, phone numbers redacted). Also included will be the District’s response for the requested items.

Please refer to the FAQ below to learn additional details about the Public Records request process.

The California State Legislature adopted the Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250, et. Seq.) in 1975. It is designed to give the public access to information in the possession of public agencies and to give the public an opportunity to monitor the functioning of their government. In enacting the CPRA, the California Legislature stated that access to information concerning the conduct of the public's business is a fundamental and necessary right for every person in the State.

A: "Public records" include any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used or retained by the agency regardless of physical form or characteristics." Writing" means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photocopying, photographing, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing, any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds or symbols or any combination thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored (Government Code 6252).

Items such as drafts, notes, or preliminary documents are generally not considered records.

A: Any person may submit a PRA request.

A: The District's policy and procedures for PRA Requests are outlined in Administrative Regulation 1340 and Board Policy 1340.

A: There is no specific form that must be used to make a request. A request should be made in writing (preferable via e-mail) to help reduce confusion about the records requested.  Requests should be submitted to the Public Records Request Officer via email at cguensler@wheatland.k12.ca.us

Please provide a detailed description of the records you seek. 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. If the record is referred to in another document or published report and it will help to attach a copy of that reference, do so.

A: The fact that we are a small school district with limited resources, time and staff availability all requests must be in writing. Because of these factors listed above the District does not permit instant response to records requests. There is no service for on-demand, same day public records inspections; nor does the law require such a service. Identification and collection of potentially responsive records are only some of the steps involved in responding to requests. The collected records must be reviewed to ensure that they are in fact responsive to the request and to assess whether they are subject to redaction to protect the privacy rights of others and consistent with applicable legal privileges and exemptions. Each of the steps in the process takes time. When records requests are available for release, we will contact you to set up an appointment for review.

A: No. In response to a public request, we are only responsible for providing existing documents and records that are maintained by the District.

A: The District releases non-exempt, existing records in response to requests. The Public Records Act does not require that the District answer questions or create new records. Requests for information should be directed to the Superintendent.

A: Records exempt from a PRA are commonly made exempt by state law. Examples include preliminary drafts and notes, pending litigation, student records, an employee's personnel and medical files, and minutes of a board meeting held in closed session.

A: FOIA governs federal agencies and generally does not apply to the District, but the PRA is modeled on FOIA. If someone makes a request to the District under FOIA, it is treated as a request under the PRA.

A: The District has 10 days to "determine whether the request…seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and reasons therefore." (California Government Code Section 6253(c).) This means that agencies are supposed to notify the requester within 10 days if they have requested deliverable public records or exempt material or some combination of the two. The law, however, does not require production within 10 days. The District may extend period to make this determination if there is a need. Some of the reasons for extending any timeline is to allow communication, find and examine records, 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.

A: Contact the Superintendent immediately as records requests must be officially acknowledged.

A: No. As a general rule, members of the public should not be allowed to simply look into our files because there may be materials in the files that should not be disclosed. Suggest the requester submit a request to the PRA Officer for further assistance.

A: No, it is not legal. While you do have the right to dispose of documents in the ordinary course of business, if it's consistent with our policies, you do not have the right to dispose of documents after a request is made (even if it would otherwise be consistent with our disposition policies) as it would be in violation of the California Public Records Act.