Iowa Department of Education

E-Mails and Open Records Law

Iowa Code chapter 22 is Iowa's Open Records law. A public record includes e-mail messages sent and received by a school district (or AEA or any public) employee on his/her school-owned computer.

Just because the e-mails are public records does not mean that every word within the communication gets released. Items that potentially could be expunged (e.g., omitted by using white-out) may include students' names, parents' names, home addresses, other "home" information, SSNs, etc. What information - if any - gets expunged depends on the context and intent of the e-mail. Some senders of e-mail to district employees have some limited rights of privacy regarding their identity, again depending on all of the facts and circumstances. School administrators should check with their school attorneys when a request for copies of e-mails (or any public document) is received.

By putting staff email addresses on a school’s web site, the school is implying that staff will actually read and respond to email.  Any school that publishes its email directory really should go to great pains to impress upon staff that checking email is not an option.  Staff should be coached to check periodically and to respond timely to email.

Because e-mails to or from a district employee on a school computer are public, it is wise to remind all employees of this. (If board members communicate to administrators via e-mail, it is prudent to also include them in any reminders.) In addition to the above information, consider include the following in a memorandum to staff:

Your school computer is not your property.

a. E-mails sent/received on your school account are subject to open records law. Remember that any parent may ask to see school e-mail about their child. Avoid this real life e-mail exchange between a school bus driver and a transportation supervisor:
Driver: "You have to do something about the situation with (Student)."
Supervisor: "What's the problem?"
Driver: "His mother."
When Mother saw the e-mail, she was not amused.

b. Personal use such as E-BAY accounts are not allowed. Questionable internet sites are misuse of public property. The media, taxpayers, and any member of the public may ask to see how district employees use their school computers.

c. Instant messaging (IM'ing) is treated in the same manner as e-mail

Each month, the Iowa Attorney General publishes a "Sunshine Advisory" regarding open meetings and public records. To read these, go to http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org/sunshine_advisories/index.html