Open Records Requests

To request a public record under CORA, please utilize the resources, including our official electronic request form, linked below. For any questions, please contact Mark Belcher, Director of Communication and Public Relations.

Fill out and submit our Electronic Request Form

D38 maintains a paper request form option. These can be printed and mailed to P.O. Box 40, Monument, Colorado 80132; Attn: Mark Belcher CORA Request

Email for inquiries, not to make a formal CORA request

Lewis-Palmer School District records are public unless otherwise protected from disclosure. The Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) is a series of laws designed to allow the public access to the records of government agencies in Colorado. Most records are public and open for inspection.

How to Make a Request for Public Records

All requests for the inspection of public records or other information (“request”) pursuant to CORA must be submitted to the Director of Communication; clear and specific as to the particular public records requested and/or information sought therefrom. Verbal requests will not be considered. If you are unsure as to how to format your request, please email an inquiry on how to make a request.

In the event LPSD38 receives an ambiguous request, the Director of Communication shall respond in writing on or before the third day after its receipt, seeking clarification. The time to produce the documents shall not begin to run until the Director of Communication has received an unambiguous written request and said request has been acknowledged. Requests for the inspection of public records or other information pursuant to CORA which are not sent to the Director of Communication, including those directed to other LPSD personnel, shall be rerouted to the Director of Communication. The time for production or response to any such request shall not begin to run until actually received by the Director of Communication and the request has been acknowledged. Due to spam filters and other similar software, requests should not be considered received until a confirmation email is received. The Director of Communication or designee shall provide a written or email response to all such requests or make a record of such response.

Timeline

Normally, the properly requested public records will be made available for inspection on or before the end of the third working day after the receipt of the written request at a time convenient to the Director of Communication during business hours. LPSD’s workday usually ends at 4:00 p.m. Requests received after 12:00 p.m. will be considered received the next workday. Where the proper request is broadly stated, voluminous or otherwise received under or during extraordinary circumstances as defined in § 24-72-203(3)(b), C.R.S., the Director of Communication may have an additional seven working days to produce the public records for inspection based upon the Director of Communication written finding which shall be sent to the requestor within three working days of the request. In the event that the Director of Communication simply cannot comply with a particular request within 10 working days, the Director of Communication shall provide written notice to the requestor within 10 working days and attempt to secure an extension from the requestor. If the requestor should refuse an extension, the Director of Communication may apply to the District Court of El Paso County for such extension.

No record or information requests will take priority over previously scheduled work activities and deadlines of the District.

Any physical records must be reviewed under the supervision of the Director of Communication or appointed designee at the District Administration Building or other location on District property at the option of the Director of Communication. The records may not be removed from the production location without the consent of the Director of Communication or designee. All records will be retrieved and refiled only by the Director of Communication or appointed designee. No records may be removed from file folders or places of storage for photocopying without the consent of the Director of Communication or appointed designee.

Fees

Photocopies of records will be provided at $.25 per standard page or a fee not to exceed the actual cost of providing a copy, printout, or photograph of a public record in a format other than a standard page. Unless otherwise waived by the Director of Communication, the Director of Communication shall charge a fee for staff time spent in excess of one hour for researching and retrieving the requested records including: conducting searches for requested records; reviewing records to determine whether they are responsive to the request; and identifying and separating those records that are not public and/or are privileged or confidential. Such fee shall be calculated at $33.58 per hour, which amount may be increased from time to time as permitted by applicable state law. The Director of Communication may require a reasonable deposit before researching and retrieving the records for inspection and copying. The Director of Communication need not produce the records if the fee is not paid in advance.

The Director of Communication shall withhold records that are privileged or that are otherwise protected from disclosure by CORA or any other statute or rule of any court. In the event that a request is made for public records that contain both nonprivileged and privileged or other nondisclosable information, the Director of Communication has the discretion to decline the request for such records where appropriate, or to redact the privileged or other nondisclosable information and charge a reasonable fee for such redaction. If the requestor refuses to pay a reasonable fee for the proposed redactions, the Director of Communication need not redact the records for inspection and may deny the request in its entirety. In the event a response to a specific request would require the preparation of a document that does not currently exist or the manipulation or rearrangement of data or other information from currently existing records, the Director of Communication has the discretion to decline the request or to prepare the document or manipulate or rearrange such data or information for a reasonable fee. In the event of a request for a particular production or format other than inspection of the original record on District property, the Director of Communication has the discretion, but is not obligated, to honor the request and charge a reasonable fee for the services. Where the records are kept only in miniaturized, digital, computer or electronic form, the director of Communication shall assist the requestor in locating any specific records sought and provide access thereto without unreasonable delay or cost, provided that the assistance does not unnecessarily interfere with the Director of Communication or School District’s discharge of its duties.