California Public Records Act (CPRA) Requests

The Rosemead School District is committed to transparency and providing easy access to public records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA).  The California Public Records Act gives the public the right to access records created and maintained by the public agency in the course of their normal business by appointment, so long as the records are not confidential or exempt and the records are readily accessible.

Pursuant to Government Code Section 6252(e), a public record is defined as "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics." Public records requests may be used to obtain "records," which include a wide variety of documents and other materials (including print, photographic, and electronic formats) that were created or obtained by the organization and are, at the time the request is filed, in the organization's possession and control.

While the District reviews all responsive records to determine if this information should be disclosed, in many cases, references to members of the public or the content of their communications to the District are subject to disclosure.  Permissible exemptions from disclosure include documents that invade an individual's right to privacy (i.e. privacy in certain personnel, medical, or student records) or hinder the government's need to perform its assigned functions in a reasonably efficient manner (i.e., maintaining the confidentiality of investigative records, official information, records related to pending litigation, and preliminary notes or memoranda).

A member of the public requesting paper copies of district records must pay established fees prior to the duplication of records.

The intent of the California Public Records Act is to allow the examination of existing public documents or records; there is no requirement to create new documents to satisfy a request for information.  If a member of the public makes a request for required information in a format not in existence, the requestor will bear the full cost of the document creation, including the employee's time.

As per the CPRA requirements, the District must respond to the requestor within 10 days with an estimate of when the request might be completed.

To view a summary of the California Public Records Act of 2004 by the State of California Attorney General's Office, click here.