What School Records Are Public?
Public school districts are government agencies subject to state open records laws. Many school district records are public and must be disclosed upon request:
- Board meeting minutes and agendas — required to be made public in virtually every state
- Budgets and financial records — including expenditures, contracts, and vendor agreements
- Superintendent and administrator compensation — salary information for public employees is generally public
- Contracts with vendors and employees — including union contracts and superintendent employment agreements
- Official emails on government systems — emails about school district business are public records
- Policies and procedures — student codes of conduct, discipline policies
- Curriculum and instructional materials — many states require disclosure of curriculum adopted by the board
- Building safety inspection records
What FERPA Protects
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA applies alongside state public records laws and creates a significant category of records that school districts must withhold:
- Individual student grades, transcripts, and academic records
- Student disciplinary records identifying specific students
- Special education records and IEPs
- Student health and medical records
- Any record that identifies a specific student
FERPA does not protect aggregated, de-identified data (e.g., "the district suspended 47 students this year" is public; the list of those 47 students is not).
How to Submit a Request
Address your request to the district's records custodian — typically the Superintendent's Office or the district's Public Information Officer. Most districts accept requests by email or through an online portal. Include:
- A clear description of the records you want
- Date ranges if relevant
- Format preference (electronic preferred for faster delivery)
- Your contact information
- Citation of your state's open records law