Public Records Requests
The Public Records Act (PRA) defines a public record as “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or retained by the agency.”
Making a Public Records Request
- Any person wishing to inspect or obtain any other public records should make the request in writing on the CVSD Request for Public Records Form
- The request should include the requestor’s name, contact information, and a detailed description of the record, and date of the request.
- Under Public Records laws, a requester is not required to identify the exact record he/she seeks, but is required to request an “identifiable record.” An “identifiable record” is one that the District can reasonably locate.
- Provide clear, specific details to help process and locate identifiable records pursuant to your request. Please keep in mind that broad or unclear requests take longer to process and may require additional clarification.
- Avoid phrases such as “regarding” or “related to” when describing records. Those inexact phrases can cause delays because records you think are “related” could be different from what the District thinks are “related.” A more precise request might be for records that “discuss” [insert your subject here]. If you have questions about how to identify records, please call the Public Records Office, 509-558-5400, and we will be happy to assist.
If your request includes emails or other electronic records, it may help to provide a specific date range and suggested search terms.
Processing of Public Records Requests
The Public Records Act governs each agency to provide access to public records and protect records from damage. The District will provide the fullest assistance to requestors and respond to public records requests in a timely manner. The public records officer or designee will process requests in the order that allows the most requests to be processed efficiently and without excessive interference with other essential functions of the District.
Within five (5) business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will do one or more of the following:
a) Acknowledge receipt of the request and provide a reasonable estimate of when records will be available; or
b) Make the records available for inspection or copying; or
c) Seek clarification of request if needed; or
d) Deny the request.
Installments
Depending on the nature/volume of anticipated records responsive to your request, the District may need to respond in installments. Please provide guidance on whether you have a preferred or prioritized set of documents (e.g., by date, hard copy records before emails, one subject before another, etc.). This clarification will allow the District to prioritize gathering all responsive records and provide them to you as efficiently as possible.
Fees for Public Records
Central Valley School District is authorized to charge standard statutory fees for copying and producing public records in accordance with District policy and Washington state laws, regulations, and guidelines. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, the District is assessing the applicability of fees charged for copies of all public records provided.
Pursuant to statutory default charges in RCW 42.56.120 and District policy/procedure 4040, the cost is 15 cents/page for photocopies or printed copies of electronic records; 10 cents/page for records scanned into electronic format; 5 cents for every four electronic files or attachments uploaded to an email, cloud storage service, or other electronic delivery system; 10 cents/gigabyte for transmitting records electronically; and the actual cost of the digital storage media/device, container used to mail the copies, and postage or delivery charges.
Before making the copies, the public records officer or designee may also require a deposit of up to 10 percent of the estimated cost of copying all records.
Payment may be made by cash, check, money order payable to the District, or credit/debit card through the District’s online payment platform. Fees can be paid at the District business office at the CVSD Learning and Teaching Center (2218 N. Molter Rd., Liberty Lake, WA 99019). The District may also charge the actual costs of mailing, including the cost of the shipping container or envelope.
Protecting Privacy
The District often encounters student names and personally identifiable information when reviewing records in response to records requests. This information may not necessarily be exempt from your public records request; however, the District asks requestors whether they want student names or other personally identifiable information. If you wish to give permission to exclude this information from the records the District provides, you would still receive each applicable record in its entirety; only the student name or other personally identifiable information of a student would be redacted.
CVSD Policy
The Central Valley School District Policy and Procedure regarding public records requests can be found at:
4040 – Public Access to School District Records
4040AP – Public Access to School District Records
Public Records Act
RCW 42.56.070 requires each agency to make available for inspection and copying non-exempt “public records” in accordance with the Public Records Act (PRA).