Records considered disclosable to the public are subject t

1
Indiana Access to Public Records Actand
Responding to Subpoenas

• Employee Training

2
Training Objectives

• Review University Policy VI.4.1
• Disclosure of University Records in Connection
  with the Access to Public Records Act and in
  Response to Third-Party Subpoenas
• Understand your responsibilities as they relate
  to public record requests and subpoenas.
• Know who to contact with questions regarding
  public records and subpoenas.

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Access toPublic Records
4
Access to Public Records

• Statement of Policy
• Purdue University is a state institution and
  therefore all of its records are public records.
• Records considered disclosable to the public are
  subject to inspection and copying by the public.
• Records declared confidential by state statute or
  federal law are not subject to disclosure.
• This policy provides a centralized procedure for
  dealing with requests for access.

5
Access to Public Records

• Scope of Access to Public Records Act
• Philosophy In general, the public is entitled to
  access, inspect, and copy any public record.
• Identifies categories of public records that are
  exempt from disclosure requirements.
• Examples include
• FERPA and HIPAA protected records
• Research records
• Identifies categories of records that may be
  exempt at the discretion of the public agency.
• Examples include
• Deliberative materials used for decision making
• Certain records within a personnel file
• Investigatory records of law enforcement agencies

6
Access to Public Records

• Public Record
• Any writing, paper, report, study, map,
  photograph, book, card, tape recording, or other
  material that is created, received, retained,
  maintained, or filed by or with a public agency.
• Includes any record generated on paper, paper
  substitutes, photographic media, magnetic or
  machine readable media, or any other material,
  regardless of form or characteristics, including
  email, voicemail, databases, instant messaging
  and text messages.

7
Access to Public Records

• Public Records Office
• Reviews all requests for access to public records
• Facilitates the response to public records
  requests
• Administers the Access to Public Records policy
  for the University

8
Access to Public Records

• Procedure for Responding to Requests
• If someone contacts you or your department to
  request access to any record
• Clearly state that you have no authority to
  receive, grant, or deny any request for access.
• Instruct them to contact the Public Records
  Office at 494-9218.
• You may ask them to complete a Request for Public
  Record form and have them forward it to the
  Public Records Office. The form is located at
  www.purdue.edu/bs-ba/doc/PublicRecordRequest.DOC
  
• If you receive a Request for Public Record form
  or a letter or other written request for access
  to any record, immediately forward to the Public
  Records Office at FREH.

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Access to Public Records

• Procedure for Responding to Requests
• The Public Records Office will act on each
  request taking into consideration the complete
  statute and the particular factual situation,
  with legal advice and assistance if deemed
  necessary.
• All decisions regarding disclosure or
  nondisclosure are to be made by the Public
  Records Office.
• Additional positions delegated authority to
  respond to public records requests
• Director of the Purdue University Student Health
  Center - Student Medical Records
• University Registrar - Student Records
• Associate Director of Sponsored Program
  Administration - Sponsored Program Records
• Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs - IPFW
  Campus Records
• Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services -
  Calumet Campus Records
• Vice Chancellor for Administration - North
  Central Campus Records

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Access to Public Records

• Information Public Records - Is there a
  difference?
• Information
• knowledge gained through study, communication,
  research, instruction, etc.
• Public Record
• information recorded on any media that is
  created, received, retained, maintained, or filed
  by or with a public agency.
• The Universitys mission is Learning, Discovery
  and Engagement.
• With this mission comes the responsibility to
  share information.
• Our jobs often require us to answer questions
  from external customers.
• When the customer requests the documents that
  support the answers, then it becomes a public
  records request and should be referred to the
  Public Records Office.

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Subpoenas
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Responding to Subpoenas

• Statement of Policy
• Purdue University and its employees are subject
  to the subpoena powers of state and federal
  courts.
• Third parties involved in lawsuits often seek to
  obtain University records that they consider
  relevant to the issues involved in their claims
  or lawsuits, even when the University is not a
  party to the claims or lawsuits.
• Not all subpoenas are valid in the State of
  Indiana.
• This policy provides a centralized procedure for
  dealing with subpoenas by third parties.

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Procedure for Subpoenas Requesting Records

• If you receive a subpoena requesting any
  University records immediately notify the Public
  Records Office and arrange to forward the
  subpoena for review.
• Never attempt to comply with or respond to the
  subpoena.
• The Public Records Office will review all
  subpoenas requesting University records and
  respond as appropriate.

14
Forms

• Request for Public Record
• www.purdue.edu/bs-ba/doc/PublicRecordRequest.DOC

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Contacts

• Public Records Office
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Mail FREH
• Public Records Administrator
• Cheryl Westlund (cwestlund_at_purdue.edu)
• Public Records Officer
• Lucia Anderson (lucia_at_purdue.edu)