On February 17, 2025, the Mackinac (MI) Center for Public Policy requested that nearby Flint Community Schools submit expense reports of school staff for 2023 and 2024. This was a valid request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Flint Community Schools failed to oblige, despite follow-ups and a demand letter. This led the Mackinac Center to file a lawsuit against the school on April 30.
The incident is evidence that schools and other educational institutions need to take FOIA compliance seriously. Otherwise, the repercussions can be far reaching.
Schools and other government-funded educational establishments are accountable to the public. But what is involved when it comes to public records compliance for schools? And how does it impact such institutions?
It begins with U.S. public and open records requirements.
Understanding Public Records Requirements for Schools
In the U.S., all government agencies and government-funded institutions (including schools) must comply with the country and the state’s public records laws.
Per FOIA, access to the public records of government agencies is, in almost all cases, the right of citizens.
The Freedom of Information Act is based on the premise that federal institutions owe the public transparency.
FOIA is supplemented by the open records laws of each state. These state and federal statutes, collectively known as open records laws, require government agencies to release information on public request, subject to certain conditions.
Citizens can request disclosure (full or partial) of previously unreleased information if they want to learn how something like public funds are being used by government-backed institutions.
When used in the context of educational institutions like schools, the open records laws and their recordkeeping requirements can help prevent misrepresentation and the spread of misinformation.
Diligent recordkeeping is also key to retaining critical information in the event of disputes from students, parents, or other governing bodies.
What is considered a public record for schools?
Open records laws require educational institutions to preserve and retain a variety of record types. Generally speaking, if it pertains to the operation of the institution and business of the school, it is considered a public record, regardless of format.
For example, records for public schools often include (but aren’t limited to):
- Course information
- Fees
- Student expenses
- Disciplinary actions
- Employment claims
It is also important to note that public records for schools and other educational institutions also include any communication prepared—or received—by the institution.
This includes various forms of online communication and content:
- website content
- social media posts
- official emails
- instant messages
- systems used for announcements
- digital message boards
As such, educational institutions need to exercise extreme caution when sharing information via online channels.
Regardless of role, IT departments, along with marketing, recruiting, website development, and social media management teams, must comply with recordkeeping rules.
Key open records compliance considerations for schools
Nowadays, it is all too easy to manipulate an image or a document. That’s why courts are pushing back and demanding that official records and evidence be authenticated — that is, proven to be real and true.
That means recordkeeping your website content, email, or social media posts goes well beyond just taking some screenshots and hoping for the best.
That is just one of many legal considerations that schools need to take into account for compliant, defensible recordkeeping.
Schools have to pay attention and attend to finer details, like:
1. Retention periods
The mandates determining the retention periods of public records vary by state. Any educational institution must adhere to laws specific to the state where the school district is located, in addition to FOIA.
2. Accessibility
Public records must be easy to retrieve. Schools risk penalties if they cannot overcome accessibility or organizational challenges.
3. Storage and Management
Maintaining tamper-proof records is non-negotiable in digital recordkeeping.
Though the mandated storage methods can change by state, regardless, it is essential that records can be proven to be unaltered and authentic — meaning they can hold up in court proceedings.
Failure in any of these areas can invite regulatory scrutiny, lawsuits, and fines. Beyond compliance, public records for schools play a key role in building and maintaining public trust.
Benefits of Streamlining Open Records Workflows with Digital Archiving
The pitfalls of non-compliance with open records laws are avoidable.
Successful management of public records for schools lies in comprehensive digital archiving. Proper digital archiving is beneficial to school authorities, students, parents, and any other stakeholders who have a vested interest in the school.
Benefits for parents and the public
For parents and the public, schools that use digital archiving build reputations of being trustworthy, credible institutions. They can request and access public information that affects their children's (and ultimately the public’s) well-being. It demonstrates that the school they have chosen is accountable, law-abiding, and prioritizes student welfare. This helps to give parents peace of mind.
Benefits for schools
For school authorities, streamlining the storage and maintenance of public records through digital archiving is a proactive approach with short and long-term benefits.
Proper digital archiving should run automatically, reducing dependency on manual labor and freeing up resources. That allows the management team to focus on human-centric tasks that do require their direct involvement.
A streamlined, automated process also preserves data quality and dramatically reduces the chance of error, making defense in case of potential litigation easier.
Furthermore, centralized storage of websites, social media, and other public records ensures schools can promptly respond to open records requests and other matters of compliance.
Optimizing public recordkeeping with accessible digital archiving also helps schools build positive reputations and foster long-term relationships with students and parents alike.
How to Preserve School Records and Ensure Open Records Compliance
Implementing a dedicated archiving solution is the first step towards simplifying compliance.
Finding the right digital archiving solution for schools
When looking for an archiving solution, look for software that will allow you to archive website content, social media posts, enterprise collaboration tools, and any other digital communication in a tamper-proof format.
The best archiving software allows you to preserve and access public records with minimal fuss and without help from IT.
While assessing potential vendors, make sure the digital archiving software can preserve website data, associated metadata, and interactive elements from complex websites.
Digital archiving solutions like Pagefreezer allow you to interact with the records as if they are still live, so you can check links, review videos, and click on forms, replicating the experience of browsing the live website.
Comprehensive digital archiving should store information with timestamps, digital signatures, and cryptographic hashes, to prove the data quality and authenticity of the records.
But comprehensive doesn’t mean complicated. You should be able to export preserved data in required formats for quick and easy record requests, compliance reviews, and audits.
When assessing potential digital archiving vendors, make sure their software allows you to:
- Find specific records fast, whether by date, keyword, or URL, across platforms
- Minimize the manual labor involved in recordkeeping by automating the process
- Share the public records securely via public or private access links
- Capture records in real time, or at scheduled intervals, to avoid records gaps
- Keep tabs on every comment, reaction, reply, and deletion as they happen, along with relevant images, captions, and underlying metadata
- Store captured data in FOIA compliant formats
Best practices for preserving school records and ensuring open records compliance
Following best practices can uncomplicate the process of digital archiving for public recordkeeping. And most of these practices, fortunately, are easy to implement.
Schools and educational institutions should focus on:
- Use compliant software: Automate the process by implementing and integrating a digital archiving solution that is designed to help schools meet government recordkeeping regulations.
- Training and awareness: Ensure that every stakeholder involved in upholding the school’s public image is aware of FOIA and other relevant recordkeeping laws. Make sure they are trained on how to use your digital archiving system, know how to find records across platforms, and can easily fulfill an open records request.
- Review the rules: Review the school’s existing recordkeeping policies to identify potential gaps, and revise them as needed. Make sure you are aware of any changes to local or state recordkeeping requirements.
- Monitoring online conversations: Regularly monitor all forms of marketing and sales communication that are used on school websites, in social media posts, and other digital venues to avoid leaking sensitive information or unapproved content.
- Conducting regular audits: Audit your public record storage to check for data quality.
The Future of Open Records for Schools
It’s become cliche to say, but it is true: social media and the internet have forever changed how we communicate and do business.
And schools and educational institutions are not exempt. In fact, online communication has provided great benefits to schools and provided necessary platforms for information exchange.
Though website, social media, and digital communication records are ‘newer’ in the grand scheme of what has been considered a record, they are still subject to open records requests, whether or not schools have the technology in place to produce them.
As government agencies and public institutions of all kinds struggle to keep up with the growing demands of transparency, accountability, and cost-savings from government and the public alike, schools have a duty to make sure their recordkeeping is comprehensive, thorough, and accessible — or endure the consequences.
