EDUCATIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PURSUANT
TO 14 DEL. C. SECTION 122(d)
716 Permanent Files of School DistrictS
A. TYPE OF REGULATORY ACTION REQUESTED
Amendment to Existing Regulation
B. SYNOPSIS OF SUBJECT MATTER OF REGULATION
The Secretary of Education seeks to amend regulation 716 Permanent Files of School Districts, from the Regulations of the Department of Education. The amendments include changing the title to Maintenance of Local School District Personnel Records to better reflect the intent of the regulation and changing sections 1.7.1 and 1.7.2 to reflect changes in procedure made by the Delaware Public Archives, formally the Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The Delaware Public Archives is also retaining records for 60 years instead of 40 years and the Delaware Code gives them the authority to change the number of years that records must be retained.
C. IMPACT CRITERIA
1. Will the amended regulations help improve student achievement as measured against state achievement standards?
The amended regulations address records retention issues, not academic achievement.
2. Will the amended regulations help ensure that all students receive an equitable education?
The amended regulations address records retention issues, not equity issues.
3. Will the amended regulations help to ensure that all students' health and safety are adequately protected?
The amended regulations address records retention issues, not students’ health and safety.
4. Will the amended regulations help to ensure that all students' legal rights are respected?
The amended regulations address record retention issues, not students’ legal rights.
5. Will the amended regulations preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision makers at the local board and school level?
The amended regulations will preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision makers at the local board and school level.
6. Will the amended regulations place unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school levels?
The amended regulations will not place unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school levels.
7. Will decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated be placed in the same entity?
The decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated will remain in the same entity.
8. Will the amended regulations be consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies, in particular to state educational policies addressing achievement in the core academic subjects of mathematics, science, language arts and social studies?
The amended regulations will be consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies, in particular to state educational policies addressing achievement in the core academic subjects of mathematics, science, language arts and social studies.
9. Is there a less burdensome method for addressing the purpose of the regulation?
The regulations are necessary to clarify the responsibilities of the school districts concerning records management.
10. What is the cost to the state and to the local school boards of compliance with the amended regulations?
There is no additional cost to the state and to the local school boards of compliance with the amended regulations.
716 Permanent File of School Districts
1.0 The Del.C. Title 14, Section 122 (b)(13) requires local school districts to assure the permanent maintenance of personnel records of all employees in the school districts of the State for a period of not less than 40 years. The records must include but are not limited to all annual salaries and sick leave and vacation information. The following definitions shall apply and the following procedures shall be observed:
1.1 "Employee" shall in this case mean any person whose terms of employment are adequate to qualify the employee for the earning of credit toward pension.
1.2 "Termination" in this case does not refer only to retirement but to any reason for the employee to leave the district.
1.3 Records for all currently employed persons shall at all times be kept up to date.
1.4 Salary data records shall be for each year of employment in the particular school district. (Total salary paid identified as fiscal or calendar year.)
1.5 The record shall show a statement concerning sick leave days earned and used under 14 Delaware Code, Section 1318, showing the number of days available at any time.
1.6 The record of vacation time for those employees whose terms of employment provide for earned vacation.
1.7 In compliance with the provisions of the statute herein referred to, each school district shall keep at least the above referenced information concerning each employee ever employed by the district and this material shall be kept on file for at least forty years following termination and preferably on a permanent basis.
1.7.1 For the security of records and the protection of the personnel for whom the information is recorded, it is recommended that original records are to be maintained at the school district for three (3) years after termination of an employee and a successful audit of such records. Records are to be purged according to Bureau of Archives and Records Management instructions. A secured copy of the records is to be retained permanently at the State Archives with a copy going back to the school district. A second option is that a school district may retain employee personnel records at the agency for three (3) years and successful audit of these records and then have these records placed on a secured system and updated annually. The secured copy of the records would be retained permanently at the State Archives with a copy going back to the school district. The original documents are then to be destroyed.
1.7.2 The style and form of the presentation of material shall be at the discretion of the local school district except that materials presented to the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs are to be grouped first by district, second by year or block of years, and within the year or years alphabetically.
1.7.3 The information referred to above shall be maintained and shall be available at the school district level for any employee or former employee seeking that information for a period extending forty years beyond termination in that district. (It is recommended that for the convenience of employees and former employees that school districts develop a card or other indexed alphabetically arranged file showing the name of each employee and the disposition of his or her records.)
716 Maintenance of Local School District Personnel Records
1.0 Definitions
1.1 "Employee" shall in this case mean any person whose terms of employment are adequate to qualify the employee for the earning of credit toward pension.
1.2 "Termination" in this case does not refer only to retirement but to any reason for the employee to leave the district.
2.0 Records for all school district employees shall be kept up to date including:
2.1 Salary data records for each year of employment in the school district. (Total salary paid identified as fiscal or calendar year.); and
2.2 Records that show sick leave days earned and used and the number of days available at any time; and
2.3 The record of vacation time for those employees whose terms of employment provide for earned vacation.
3.0 Each school district shall keep the records referred to in section 2.0 above for all employees for at least sixty years following termination of employment.
3.1 For the security of records and the protection of the personnel for whom the information is recorded, it is recommended that original records are to be maintained at the school district for three (3) years after termination of an employee and a successful audit of such records. Records are to be purged in accordance with Delaware Public Archives (DPA) School Districts General Records Retention Schedule and prepared for storage according to DPA’s Records Management Handbook “Preparation of Records for Short-Term Storage.” Records may remain in their original format and will then be transferred to DPA and retained in storage for 57 years. Local District Records Officers and Authorized Agents may request files from storage in accordance with DPA’s procedures for requesting files. At the end of the retention period, the documents will be destroyed in accordance with DPA’s destruction procedures.
3.2 The style and form of the records shall be at the discretion of the local school districts, except that records transferred to the Delaware Public Archives for storage must be in a format acceptable to DPA. Individual local school districts may elect to have their records recorded onto a different type of media at district expense, in accordance with DPA guidelines.
3.2.1 The information referred to above shall be maintained and available for any employee or former employee seeking information concerning their own employment records for a period of 60 years after termination of employment. (It is recommended that for the convenience of employees and former employees that school districts develop an alphabetically arranged file showing the name of each employee and the disposition of his or her records.)