Open Records Act Changes Take Effect

*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************

Atlanta, GA | Posted: April 30, 2012

Contact

Office of Legal Affairs

Sidebar Content
No sidebar content submitted.
Summaries

Summary Sentence:

Each year, Georgia Tech receives hundreds of Open Records Act (ORA) requests. That’s why it’s important for employees to familiarize themselves with the ORA changes that Gov. Nathan Deal recently approved.

Full Summary:

Each year, Georgia Tech receives hundreds of Open Records Act (ORA) requests. That’s why it’s important for employees to familiarize themselves with the ORA changes that Gov. Nathan Deal recently approved.

Each year, Georgia Tech receives hundreds of Open Records Act (ORA) requests. That’s why it’s important for employees to familiarize themselves with the ORA changes that Gov. Nathan Deal recently approved.

Changes to the law are effective immediately and include the following:  

  • The charge per page for paper copies has been reduced from $0.25 to $0.10 per page.
  • The act expressly allows Tech to charge for time spent removing confidential information from otherwise public records.  
  • If the estimated cost to produce the requested records exceeds $25, Tech may require an agreement to pay before searching for responsive records. If the estimated cost exceeds $500, the Institute may require payment before beginning to search for responsive records.
  • Tech is expressly permitted to withhold documents protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
  • Tests, scoring keys and related materials are exempt from production under the act, so long as the test will be given in the future.  
  • If some, but not all, of the records requested are available within three business days after a request, the portion that can be produced within three days must be produced in that time.
  • When it will take Tech more than three business days to retrieve the requested records, the Institute may identify any applicable exemptions within three days after retrieving the records.
  • The enforcement provisions of the act are not applicable if a request is made orally — only when the request is written.

Employees who have questions or receive record requests should contact the Office of Legal Affairs.

Additional Information

Groups

Whistle

Categories
Institute and Campus
Related Core Research Areas
No core research areas were selected.
Newsroom Topics
No newsroom topics were selected.
Keywords
changes, FERPA, office of legal affairs, Open Records Act
Status
  • Created By: Amelia Pavlik
  • Workflow Status: Published
  • Created On: Apr 30, 2012 - 6:27am
  • Last Updated: Oct 7, 2016 - 11:12pm