SECTION K: Schoolcommunity Relations

SECTION K: SchoolCommunity Relations

KAGoals for SchoolCommunity Relations

KBPublic Information Program

KBARequests for Information

KBA-R

KBA-1

KBA-2

KBCMedia Relations

KBEInternet Privacy

KCCommunity Involvement in Decision Making

KDPublic Participation at Board Meetings (Also BDDH)

KFDistribution of Information/Materials (Option 1 and Option 2)

KFBAdministration of Surveys and Questionnaires

KGCommunity Use of School Facilities

KGASales and Solicitations in Schools

KGBPublic Conduct on School Property

KGCTobacco Use on School Premises

KHPublic Gifts to the Schools

KJAdvertising in the Schools

KKSchool Visitors

KKAService Animals in Public Schools

KLPublic Complaints

KLBPublic Complaints About Learning Resources (Options 1& 2)

KMRelations with Community Organizations

KMARelations with Parent Organizations

KNSex Offender Registry Notification

KNAViolent Sex Offenders on School Property

KNAJRelations with Law Enforcement Authorities

KNBReports of Missing Children

KPParental Rights and Responsibilities

KQCommercial, Promotional, and Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships

File: KA

GOALS FOR SCHOOLCOMMUNITY RELATIONS

The School Board may set goals and standards for schoolcommunity relations and may regularly evaluate its relationship with the public and its programs for maintaining open channels of communication and good relations with parents, community organizations, the business and industrial sector, and the community at large.

Through its schoolcommunity relations program, the Board will encourage the community to:

Take an active interest in the schools and participate in planning activities.

Place a high priority on education and make funds available for an educational system that supports learning for all children.

Establish partnerships with the schools to enhance learning opportunities.

Schoolcommunity relations are essential to securing public input and public support for educational programs.

Adopted:

______

Legal Ref.:Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§ 22.1-29.1, 22.1-79(8),

22.1-253.13:6.B,22.1-253.13:7.C.4.

Cross Refs :KQCommercial, Promotional, and Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships

IGBCParental Involvement

File: KB

PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM

The community shall be kept informed regarding the educational program through the use of available media of communication.

Since school publications are one means by which the public evaluates the schools, publications shall receive careful faculty supervision as well as approval of the principal to ensure acceptable standards of content and journalism.

Adopted:

______

Legal Ref.:Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§ 2.2-3700 et seq.

File: KBA

REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

BLANK Public Schools shall comply with Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. All requests for information shall be processed in accordance with KBA-R.

Adopted:

______

Legal Ref.: Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, § 2.2-3700 et seq.

File: KBA-R

Page 1

REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

BLANK Public Schools is committed to full compliance with Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, and shall process all requests for information in accordance with the following procedures:

Access to Records

Official records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act shall be open toinspection and copying during the regular office hours of the BLANK Public Schools’ central office.
When practicable, the following records shall be available on demand at the central office:

[SCHOOL BOARD SHALL INSERT LIST OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON DEMAND--for example, most recent school board meeting minutes].

Unless otherwise specified by the Superintendent, inspection of records shall take place at thecentral office of BLANK Public Schools, and shall not be removed from that site. Copies may be requested in lieu of or at the time of inspection, subject to the charges listed below. Nonexempt records maintained in an electronic database shall be produced in any tangiblemedium or format identified by the requester that is regularly used in the ordinary course ofbusiness by BLANK Public Schools, including posting the records on a website or delivering the records through an electronic mail address provided by the requester.
One of the following forms of photo identification must be presented, or a photocopy thereofmust be provided, before any person shall be allowed to inspect any records or receive copies of any records:

Press identification identifying requester as a representative of a newspaper or magazine with circulation in the Commonwealth, or of a radio or television station broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth, OR
Driver’s License or other official photo identification showing that requester is a citizen of the Commonwealth.

The Superintendent or a designee shall be present during inspection or copying of records. A record of each inspection shall be made, using form KBA-F2.

Request Procedures

Requests for access to records shall be made with reasonable specificity.
Requests shall be directed to the BLANK Public Schools central office at:

[INSERT ADDRESS (may be a street address, a post office box, or an e-mail address), TELEPHONE, AND FAX NUMBER]

Requesters should make their requests using Form KBA-F1. Requests received at the central office via telephone shall be transcribed onto Form KBA-F1 by central office staff. Written requests other than on Form KBA-F1 shall be appended to a copy of the form by central office staff, who shall fill out as much of the form as possible.
Building office personnel shall provide Form KBA-F1 and a copy of this regulation upon request to any person interested in obtaining access to records, and shall instruct the requester to direct the request to the central office. Telephone inquiries shall be redirected to the central office. Any written requests received by building personnel shall be immediately forwarded to the central office, with a notation indicating the date and time the request was received.

Responding to Requests

Promptly, but in all cases within five working days of receiving the request, the school division will provide the requested records to the requester, or make one of the following responses in writing:

(a)The requested records are being entirely withheld because their release is prohibited by law or because the Virginia Freedom of Information Act gives their custodian discretion to withhold them. The response will identify with reasonable particularity the volume and subject matter of the withheld records, and, with respect to each category of withheld records, cite the specificVirginia Code section that authorizes the withholding of the records.

(b)The requested records are being provided in part and are being withheld in part because the release of part of the records is prohibited by law or the custodian has exercised his discretion to withhold a portion of the records. The response will identify with reasonable particularity the subject matter of the withheld portions and cite, with respect to each category of withheld records, the specific Virginia Code section(s) which authorize the withholding of the records. When a portion of a requested record is withheld, the school division will delete or excise only that portion of the record to which an exemption applies and will release the remainder of the record.

(c)The requested records could not be found or do not exist. If the school division knows that another public body has the requested records, the response will include contact information for the other public body.

(d)It is not practically possible to provide the records or to determine whether they are available within the five-day period. Such response will specify the conditions which make a response impossible. If the response is made within five working days, one of the preceding responses shall be provided within an additional seven-day period.

The school division may petition the appropriate court for additional time to respond to a request for records when the request is for an extraordinary volume of records or requires an extraordinarily lengthy search, and a response within the time outlined above will prevent the school division from meeting its operational responsibilities. Before proceeding with the petition, the school division will make reasonable efforts to reach an agreement with the requester concerning the production of the records requested.

The five-day period shall begin on the first working day following the day the request is received by the central office or by a building office, and shall end at the close of business on the fifth working day following receipt of the request. Any time that elapses between the time the requester is notified of an advance cost determination pursuant to the procedures detailed below and the time that the requester responds to that notice shall not be counted in calculating the five work days.

Processing of Requests

The Superintendent or a designee shall, after receiving a request, promptly make an initial determination as to whether the requested records will be provided to the requester, will be withheld, either completely or in part, or if it is practically impossible to provide the requested records or to determine whether they are available within five days.
If the Superintendent or designee is unsure whether the requested documents should be provided to the requester, legal advice shall be promptly sought.
If the Superintendent or designee is uncertain whether the requested records exist or where they may be located, efforts shall be promptly initiated to locate the records or determine whether they exist.
If the requested records will be made available either in whole or in part, the Superintendent or a designee shall promptly consult with central office staff to determine the cost involved to assemble the records for inspection and copying. Where portions of individual records must be redacted prior to inspection and copying, the cost of doing this shall also be taken into account. The following costs shall be charged at the rates indicated, not to exceed actual cost:

[SCHOOL BOARD SHALL FILL IN THE SCHEDULE BELOW WITH RATES NOT TO EXCEED ACTUAL COST. A RANGE OF RATES SHOULD BE INSERTED FOR STAFF MEMBER TIME]

Staff member search time, charged by the quarter hour. Depending on the staff member(s) involved in the search, rates of ___ to ___ per quarter hour may apply.
Computer search time, charged at the rate of __ per quarter hour
Computer printouts, charged at the rate of ___ cents per page
Photocopies (including those necessary to perform redactions), charged at the rate of __ cents per page.
Incidental out-of-pocket costs necessary to assemble the records (for example: phone, postage, or courier charges).

If the requester has asked for an advance determination of the cost, or if the cost is expected to exceed $ 200, the requester shall be notified in advance of the cost associated with the request. If the cost of the request is determined to exceed $200, the school board may, before continuing to process the request, require the requester to agree to payment of a deposit not to exceed the amount of the advance determination. The deposit shall be credited toward the final cost of supplying the requested records. No further action shall be taken until the requester responds, and the requester must agree to pay the estimated amount before any further processing of the request is performed.
Before processing a request for records, the Superintendent or designee may require the requester to pay any amounts owed to the school board for previous requests for records that remain unpaid 30 days or more after billing.
If school division records have been transferred to any entity, including any other public body, for storage, maintenance, or archiving, the school division remains the custodian of the records for purposes of responding to requests and is responsible for retrieving and supplying the records to the requester.
Any records to be disclosed shall be assembled for inspection and copying by central office staff, under the direction and supervision of the Superintendent or a designee.
Central office staff shall be responsible for recording the date the request was received, verifying photo identification and signature, and recording and assembling additional information about the request as indicated on Form KBA-F1.

Adopted:

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Legal Ref.: Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, § 2.2-3704.

File: KBA-FI

REQUEST FOR PUBLIC RECORDS

Name ______/ STAFF USE ONLY
Date Request Received: ______
Request was made (check one)
by requester on this form
by telephone
in writing other than on form
(attach original request)
Date Response Sent: ______
(attach copy)
Identification Verified
Type: ______Number: ______
Date Inspection Made: ______
(attach record)
Itemized Cost Statement Attached
Address ______
______
______
Phone ______
I am a (check one):
Citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Member of the Pres Referenced in §2.2-3704 News Organization ______
OFFICIAL PHOTO IDENTIFICATION MUST BE PRESENTED PRIOR TO INSPECTION OF RECORDS OR RECEIPT OF ANY COPIES
(PHOTOCOPY ACCEPTABLE WITH
MAILED/FAXED REQUEST)

I am requesting access to the following records (please be as specific as possible, and attach additional paper if necessary):

______

Reasonable costs for copying, search, and computer time may be assessed in connection with this request. A current schedule of costs appears in Regulation KBA-R.

Specify format desired (if available):

Photocopies / E-mail (give address): ______
Website posting / Other (please specify):______
Check this box to request an advance determination of cost.

______

SignatureDate

RETURN COMPLETED FORM TO:

BLANK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
[INSERT CENTRAL OFFICE ADDRESS]

File: KBA-F2

RECORD OF INSPECTION

Date / Time In / Time Out
Person Reviewing/
Requesting Records
Name / Signature
Staff Person in Attendance
or Providing Copies
Name / Signature
Records Reviewed (describe)
Photocopies
Item / No. Pages / Date Copies Made

File: KBC

MEDIA RELATIONS

Media releases by the schools are encouraged as a means of informing the public of programs, activities, and accomplishments. Staff members are encouraged to participate in activities that inform the public about school programs and activities.

News and information concerning school events, personnel, students, and programs shall be released to the press only with the approval of the principal and in accordance with State and federal laws regarding confidentiality. All other matters representing the official position of the Board prepared for publication by any of its employees shall be approved by the superintendent or his/her designee prior to release to the press.

Adopted:

______

Legal Ref.:Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§ 22.1-70, 22.1-253.13:7.C.4,22.1-293, 22.1-287, 22.1-287.1.

Cross Ref.:JOStudent Records

File: KBE

Page 1

INTERNET PRIVACY

The BLANK School Board is committed to complying with the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (formerly known as the Privacy Protection Act) and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The BLANKSchool Division shall not collect unnecessary personal information by means of its website, and shall collect only appropriate personal information to the extent necessary to serve its constituents and the community.

Personal information collected and retained by the school division’s website will be maintained in compliance with the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act. Any individual wishing to learn the purpose for which information has been recorded and the particulars of its use and dissemination may contact the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee regarding this information. Any person wishing to correct, erase or amend inaccurate, obsolete or irrelevant information may do so by procedures established by the Superintendent or the designee.

The school division shall inform the public of any personal information collected through its website by posting the following privacy statement or a link to this privacy statement in a conspicuous fashion at the top of the website home page:

BLANK Public Schools

Internet Privacy Policy Statement

The following information explains the Internet Privacy Policy, which the BLANK Public Schools has adopted for its website. The following is intended to explain our current Internet privacy practices, but shall not be construed as a contractual promise. We reserve the right to amend our Internet Privacy Policy Statement at any time without notice.

Virginia law

We protect our records in accordance with our obligations as defined by applicable Virginia statutes, including, but not limited to, Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and by any applicable federal laws.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other public or private entities' websites, whose privacy practices we do not control.

Information we collect

When you access our website, the routing or client information, and the essential and nonessential technical information listed below, is automatically collected. No other information is collected through our website except when you deliberately decide to send it to us (for example, by clicking on a link to send us an e-mail). The information you might choose to send us is listed below as "optional information."

Routing, or client, information: the Internet domain and Internet address of the computer you are using;

Essential technical information: identification of the page or service you are requesting, type of browser and operating system you are using, and the date and time of access;

Nonessential technical information: the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our website, and the "cookie information" described below;

Optional information: when you send us an e-mail, your name, e-mail address, and the content of your e-mail, and/or when you fill out online forms, all the data you choose to fill in or confirm; and,

Cookies:

Our website does not place any "cookies" on your computer.

Our website places “cookies” on your computer, unless your browser is set to reject cookies. The cookies enable our website to recognize you when you return to the website at a later date or time and enable us to personalize the website with preferences or information you have provided during prior sessions. The cookies information placed on your computer by this website includes the following:

How the collected information is used