FOIA provides the public with access to existing non-exempt official records of a public agency, but does not require the division to generate or create records, nor respond to inquiries for information. Certain categories of records may be withheld under FOIA, such as personnel records; student records; tests and examinations used to evaluate student or employee performance; records relating to the security of students, staff, and property; records protected from disclosure under the attorney-client or work-product privileges; the Superintendent's working papers; closed session materials, etc.
All requests for official public records made under Virginia's Freedom of Information Act shall be directed and/or delivered to the division's FOIA Compliance Officer, who has been designated as such pursuant to Va. Code Section 2.2-3704.1 (A) (2), as follows.
Soledad Araya, FOIA Officer
Prince William County Public Schools
PO Box 389
Manassas, VA 20108
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 571-402-3150
Fax: 703-498-2002
You can request records through U.S. mail, fax, email, in person, or over the phone. From a practical perspective, it is helpful to you and PWCS to have your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request and assists PWCS in understanding exactly what records you are requesting and expediting a response.
Such requests should be dated and must state with "reasonable specificity" the documents requested so that PWCS can identify and locate the records you are seeking. You must provide your name and legal address when making a request. You can choose to receive electronic records in any format used by PWCS in the regular course of business.
The following is a general description of the types of records held by PWCS:
If you are unsure whether PWCS has the record(s) you seek, please contact the FOIA Officer, Soledad Araya, at [email protected].
The following are a few of the most commonly used exemptions from the Code of Virginia (this is not an all-inclusive list). For all potential exemptions, please see Chapter 37 of the Code of Virginia:
Since exemptions exist to protect some compelling public interest (such as the privacy of individuals, personally identifiable information of students, or PWCS’ bargaining position in an ongoing negotiation or discussion), it is inevitable that PWCS will need to rely on exemptions in many cases. For that reason, it is PWCS’ general practice to invoke all exemptions that are applicable to any request for records. This practice ensures that we treat all constituents the same way to the greatest extent possible.
A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and shall make all reasonable efforts to supply the requested records at the lowest possible cost. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. Prior to conducting a search for records, the public body shall notify the requester in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and inquire of the requester whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
You may have to pay for the records that you request from PWCS. PWCS makes reasonable charges not to exceed its actual costs incurred in searching, accessing, duplicating, and supplying, the requested records. This includes items like staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. When assessing charges for accessing or searching for requested records, PWCS does not use a flat fee or a flat rate. To ensure charges are accurate, it is PWCS policy to use the equivalent of the responsible employee(s)’s hourly rate of pay multiplied by the number of hours the responsible employee(s) estimate it will take to collect the records. Additional charges, determined with the same formula, may be included depending on the need to redact the responsive records to the extent permitted by FOIA. You have the right to request that an estimated cost of production be provided in advance when you submit a request. PWCS will work with you to minimize the cost of producing records, including by waiving charges for requests that take less than 30 minutes, by using administrative or clerical staff whenever possible. and by working with the requester to clarify requests to ensure only records responsive to your request are collected.
If we estimate that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, we can require you to pay a deposit, not to exceed the amount of the estimate, before proceeding with your request. The five days that we have to respond to your request do not include the time between when we ask for a deposit and when you respond.
Before processing a request for records, PWCS will require the requester to pay any amounts owed for previous records requests that have remained unpaid for 30 days or more after billing.
Citizens and members of the media are encouraged to submit informal requests for information and documents relating to the school division directly to the Communications Department at [email protected]. These requests will be handled as expeditiously as possible, but will not be considered requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Act, or any other formal legal vehicle.
Submit an informal request for information to [email protected].
This notice complies with the posting requirements of Va. Code Section 2.2-3704.1.