The Cobb County School District (District) complies with the requirement of the Georgia Records Act (OCGA 50-l8-90 et seq.) that all local governments adopt a records management plan. The District’s records may contain information that retains value as legal, audit, and historical evidence that the District has carried out its' mandated duties and responsibilities. These records contain information needed for varying lengths of time as specified in the Retention Schedules for Local Government Records (State Retention Schedules) established by the Georgia Secretary of State through the Division of Archives and History.

RULE:

A. GENERAL GUIDELINES:
    1. Each Division, Department and school is responsible for adhering to the State
        Retention Schedules’ Common Record Categories as well as the Specific Record
        Categories, or parts of the Specific Record Categories, that apply to school districts.
        For any record series in the District’s custody not covered by the State Retention
        Schedules, the Office of Records Management of the Financial Services Division shall
        recommend schedules for adoption by the District and shall submit them to the
        Georgia Division of Archives and History.
    2. Records are to be retained as required in the State Retention Schedules and any
        District Schedules. Absent substantial justification, no records should be:
        a. Retained that are not required by the State Retention Schedules or District
            Schedules; and
        b. Retained longer than is required by the State Retention Schedules or District
            Schedules. Without State approval, no record shall be retained for a period that is
            shorter than the period required by the State Retention Schedules.
    3. When a document is being prepared, all preliminary versions or drafts may be
        destroyed once the final version is complete.

B. RECORDS MANAGEMENT PLAN:
The District establishes a Records Management Plan (Plan) administered by the Office of Records Management (Records Management) of the Financial Services Division. The Plan shall:
    1. Direct and coordinate all records management matters in compliance with the
        Georgia Records Act including identifying responsibilities of individual schools and
        departments;
    2. Provide information and assistance for records storage, retrieval, and destruction to
        allow individual schools and departments to comply with State Retention Schedules
        and any District Schedules; and
    3. Communicate a destruction procedure in compliance with the State Retention
        Schedules and any District Schedules.

C. RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK:
Records Management shall develop, maintain and issue a Records Management Handbook (Handbook) (Form EHB-1) outlining the District’s procedures for the transfer, storage, retrieval, microfilming, and destruction of records generated and maintained by the District administrative and school offices.

D. OFF-SITE STORAGE:
    An off-site records storage center will house paper records for permanent retention and
    records stored temporarily pending disposal/destruction. The center will:
    1. Store records that can be removed from the office environment;
    2. Provide access to records only to authorized personnel;
    3. Provide information retrieval services to include copies of transcripts;
    4. Assist in the destruction/disposal of records according to the State Retention
        Schedules and any District Schedules; and
    5. Coordinate the microfilming of records for permanent retention.

E. ELECTRONIC RECORDS:
Retention requirements included in the State Retention Schedules and any District Schedules apply equally to electronic and paper records. Therefore, electronic records:
    1. Are retained the same length of time as paper documents with the same content.
    2. May be retained in electronic format if their retention period is not more than 15
        years or they may be printed and retained in hard copy or micro-filmed, except for
        e-mail as provided below. As a general rule, they do not need to be retained in both
        formats.
    3. E-Mail:
        Based upon its content, the State Retention Schedules categorizes E-Mail as
        “Transitory” or “Temporary” (see the Schedules for length of retention for each
        category). Guidelines:
        a. Transitory E-mail should be deleted as soon as it is no longer useful.
        b. Temporary E-mail, whether short-term or long-term, is subject to the following
            District guidelines:
            (1) Retention of E-mail originating within the District is the responsibility of the
                 originator.
            (2) Retention of E-mail originating outside the District is the responsibility of the
                 recipient unless someone other than the recipient is designated to respond to
                 it, in which case the responder is responsible for retaining both the original
                 message and the response.
            (3) Temporary E-Mail, as defined above, should be printed and retained in hard
                 copy. The hard copy must include the originator of the document, the owner
                 of the document, and the date the document was created or modified. The
                 electronic copy should then be deleted.
        c. E-mail containing student specific information may become part of the student’s
            permanent record if the E-mail is printed and placed with the permanent record. In
            this event, the electronic copy is not retained.

F. OPEN RECORDS ACT:
Except as otherwise provided by law or court order, all records prepared and maintained or received in the course of the operation of the District shall be open to the public in accordance with the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. Public records include documents, tapes, photographs, and computer-based or generated information such as e-mails. Public records also include records received or maintained by a private person or entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of the District. Pursuant to the Act, a reasonable charge will be collected for search, retrieval, and other direct administrative costs for complying with a request to inspect or copy public records. There shall be no charge, however, for the first quarter hour. When copies are requested, a copying fee will be charged and collected in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71.

Reclassified an Administrative Rule: 9/1/04
Revised: 6/14/06