Policies & Procedures Manual

22

Policy No: 107

Policy Contact: President

Policy Title: PUBLIC RECORDS REVIEW POLICY

Mississippi law (Sections 25-61-1, et seq ., Mississippi Code of 1972) requires that public entities, which includes East Central Community College (ECCC), provide access to or copies of the public records of ECCC in response to a written request. Further, Mississippi law allows each public entity to develop “reasonable written procedures” concerning the cost, time, place, and method of access to these records. Therefore, the purpose of this policy is to establish the procedures by which ECCC will respond to valid requests for public records. All requests to inspect, copy, or obtain reproductions of “public records,” as defined by Section 25-61-3 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as held by the ECCC District shall be made in writing to the President, East Central Community College District, clearly indicating the date, specific record requested and the name and address of the individual and/or organization requesting the record. Upon receipt, the President and the College’s legal counsel will review the request for compliance with this policy and the laws of the state of Mississippi. If the written request for public records constitutes an appropriate request requiring a response and it is determined that the ECCC District has within its possession and/or control the record(s) identified in the request, the President shall authorize appropriate personnel of the community college to either make the requested public record available during regular business hours or to produce a copy of the record within fourteen (14) working days from the date the request was received, or shall issue a written denial stating the specific reasons for the denial. A reasonable fee shall be charged to cover the actual cost of searching for the record. Also, a fee of $.20 per page will be charged for copy machine reproductions. Other costs for hand-copying, postage, and other actual expenses involved shall be charged to the requestor as appropriate. All fees shall be payable prior to examining or receiving copies of the public record. Any delay in the receipt of these fees may result in an extension of the fourteen (14) day time limit specified above. If it is determined that an exemption applies to the record(s) requested, the President shall issue a written denial to the requestor stating the specific reason(s) for the denial. Copies of any denials of requests shall be maintained by the President for at least three (3) years.

(Revised 6/14/16)