KENT SCHOOL DISTRICT – (2023) Request for a complete electronic copy of all Public Records Requests received by the District including the District Responses for the year 2023

KENT SCHOOL DISTRICT – (2023) Request for a complete electronic copy of all Public Records Requests received by the District including the District Responses for the year 2023
Via email: PublicRecords@Kent.k12.wa.us

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act [RCW 42.56] I hereby request the following records:

1. I request a complete electronic copy of all Public Records Requests received by your agency in the year 2023 and a complete electronic copy of your agency's Responses to each of these Public Records Requests for the year 2023.

Note: Parents and students seeking GRADES and/or TRANSCRIPTS in the year 2023 can be excluded from this request.

RECORDS INSTALLMENTS - ORDER OF PRODUCTION
If production of responsive records will be completed in multiple installments, please begin by producing records in REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL FORMAT BY DATE. The most recent public records should be produced first and the oldest records produced last by date.

DEFINITION OF RECORDS AND WRITINGS
RECORDS AND WRITINGS as defined by RCW 42.56.010(4): any handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, and every other means of recording any form of communication or representation including, but not limited to, letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, motion picture, film and video recordings, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums, diskettes, sound recordings, and other documents including existing data compilations from which information may be obtained or translated.

PRODUCTION PROCESSING AND DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS

Please provide all records in their native electronic format. Please do not instead create new records by printing electronic files then scanning and printing the newly scanned prints.

Washington State Law is clear that the use of 3rd party “portals” (Such as GOVQA) for a public records request is optional for the requestor. Respectfully I decline. Please provide all records electronically via direct email attachment to this email address.

Please do not register this requestor for, nor direct this requestor to the use of any 3rd party commercial portal including but not limited to FOIAOnline, GovQA, NextRequest, FOIAExpress, JustFOIA FOIADirect, WebForm, or any other online service other than a direct NO PASSWORD REQUIRED, NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED, internet cloud-based download link, or electronic email.

Do not send any portion of this public records request to any 3rd party for-profit corporation such as GOVQA, a Grannicus Corporation or NEXT-REQUEST.

Do not register this request with any for profit portal or 3rd party organization such as GOVQA, a Grannicus Corporation, or NEXT-REQUEST.

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL

RCW 42.56.080 - Identifiable records—Facilities for copying—Availability of public records.

"...Agencies shall honor requests received in person during an agency's normal office hours, or by mail or email, for identifiable public records unless exempted by provisions of this chapter. No official format is required for making a records request; however, agencies may recommend that requestors submit requests using an agency provided form or web page."

This public records request is being made via email. This public records request will be honored and fulfilled by your agency via email as requested or relief will be sought per statute.

NATIVE ELECTRONIC FORMAT
Please provide all identified public records in their NATIVE electronic format, either .pst file or .pdf PORTFOLIO file. Please provide all electronic records in the fewest number of individual files as per native format or use free .zip compression in each installment.

FEES
In the event that there are fees, please inform us of the total charges in advance of fulfilling the request in strict compliance with all provisions of the Washington State Public Records Act.

EXEMPTION LOGS
Please ensure all redactions or exemptions claimed by your agency in the production of responsive records are accompanied by a complete and detailed exemption log noting the valid legal reason for each exemption at each redaction location in the record produced, as well as the specific number of pages if any that your agency redacts or withholds in their entirety. Each redaction should be noted by footnote or by a clear reference to the specific justification for that redaction, and only the minimal exempt portion of any record may be withheld.

COMMERCIAL PURPOSE DECLARATION
The Washington State Public Records Act prohibits the disclosure of “lists of individuals” for a commercial purpose (RCW 42.56.070(8)). I declare this public records request is not being made for any commercial purpose whatsoever. Also, this public records request is not being made for a "list of individuals." This declaration satisfies all requirements of RCW 42.56 regarding prohibitions on lists and commercial purposes. No additional commercial purpose declaration will be completed for this public records request.

PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC RECORDS *** ANTICIPATE LITAGATION ***

WAC 44-14-03005 RETENTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS
The lawful destruction of public records is governed by retention schedules. The unlawful destruction of public records can be a crime. RCW 40.16.010 and 40.16.020. An agency is prohibited from destroying a public record, even if it is about to be lawfully destroyed under a retention schedule, if a public records request has been made for that record. RCW 42.56.100. Additional retention requirements might apply if the records may be relevant to actual or anticipated litigation. The agency is required to retain the record until the record request has been resolved.

Note: An agency can be found to violate the Public Records Act and be subject to the attorneys' fees and penalty provision if it prematurely destroys a requested record after a request is made. See Yacobellis v. City of Bellingham, 55 Wn. App. 706, 780 P.2d 272 (1989). However, it is not a violation of the Public Records Act if a record is destroyed prior to an agency's receipt of a public records request for that record. Bldg. Indus. Ass'n of Wash. v. McCarthy, 152 Wn. App. 720, 218 P.3d 196 (2009); West v. Dep't of
Nat. Res., 163 Wn. App. 238, 258 P.3d 78 (2011). The Public Records Act (chapter 42.56 RCW) and the records retention statutes (chapter 40.14 RCW) are two different laws.

COMMUNICATION VIA EMAIL

Please send all requests for clarification, status updates, and production of responsive electronic documents via direct email reply.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. We look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Good Luck.

05-14-2024

via email to PublicRecords@kent.k12.wa.us

Hello,

On 04-16-2024 you stated:

"This request will be provided in installments. The first installment is anticipated by May 10, 2024."

Today is 05-14-2024 and no records have been produced and no updated reasonable estimate of time to produce these public records has been provided by your agency.

1. Produce copies of the responsive public records requested.
2. Provide a reasonable estimate of time it will take your agency to produce records responsive to this request.
3. Provide the reason why your agency is not responding to email public records requests and not providing "fullest assistance" as per Washington state law.
4. Provide the name and contact information (email) for the supervisor in charge of public records requests for your agency.

AGENCY ACTION REQUIRED.

Thank you.

Constructive Notice - ANTICIPATE LITIGATION

RCW 42.56.550
Judicial review of agency actions.
(1) Upon the motion of any person having been denied an opportunity to inspect or copy a public record by an agency, the superior court in the county in which a record is maintained may require the responsible agency to show cause why it has refused to allow inspection or copying of a specific public record or class of records. The burden of proof shall be on the agency to establish that refusal to permit public inspection and copying is in accordance with a statute that exempts or prohibits disclosure in whole or in part of specific information or records.
(2) Upon the motion of any person who believes that an agency has not made a reasonable estimate of the time that the agency requires to respond to a public record request or a reasonable estimate of the charges to produce copies of public records, the superior court in the county in which a record is maintained may require the responsible agency to show that the estimate it provided is reasonable. The burden of proof shall be on the agency to show that the estimate it provided is reasonable.