| Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 |
| Bylaws & Policies |
8320 - PERSONNEL FILES
It is necessary for the orderly operation of the School District to prepare a personal information system for the retention of appropriate files bearing upon an employee's duties and responsibilities to the District and the District's responsibilities to the employee.
The Board of Education requires that sufficient records exist to ensure an employee's qualifications for the job held; compliance with Federal, State, and local benefit programs; conformance with District rules; and evidence of completed evaluations. Such records will be kept in compliance with the laws of the State of Illinois.
The Board delegates the maintenance of an employee personal information system to the Superintendent.
A single central file shall be maintained, and subsidiary records shall be maintained for ease in data gathering only.
Only that information which pertains to the professional role of the employee and submitted by duly authorized school administrative personnel and the Board may be entered in the official record file. The employee shall be informed whether requested information is legally required or whether s/he may decline to supply the information.
A copy of each such entry shall be given to the employee upon request.
The employee shall have access to his/her file upon request two (2) times each calendar year.
Personnel records shall be available to Board members and school administrators as may be required in the performance of their jobs.
When a request for credit information about a School District employee is received by telephone, the only information to be released is whether or not the person is employed by the District.
Credit information requested by mail may be released with the following conditions:
| A. | Written permission to release information must be obtained from the individual about whom information is requested. | |
| B. | An administrator must sign the released materials. |
When the District receives a written request for personnel records from a third party, the District shall review the requested records and, before releasing the records to the third party to inspect and copy such records, the District shall delete disciplinary reports, letters of reprimand or other records of disciplinary action which are more than four (4) years old, unless the release is ordered to a party in a legal action or arbitration.
The District shall not divulge disciplinary reports, letters of reprimand, or records of other disciplinary action which are less than four (4) years old to a third party, to a party who is not a part of the employer's organization, or to a party who is not a part of a labor organization representing the employee, without written notice as provided herein. The written notice to the employee shall be by first-class mail to the employee's last known address and shall be mailed on or before the day the information is divulged.
The District, however, shall divulge disciplinary reports, letters of reprimand, or records of other disciplinary action which are less than four (4) years old to a third party without written notice if the employee has specifically waived written notice as part of a written, signed employment application with another employer; the disclosure is ordered to a party in a legal action or arbitration; or information is requested by a government agency as a result of a claim or complaint by an employee, or as a result of a criminal investigation by such agency.
If the request for access to an employee's personnel records is denied, the Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee shall notify by letter the person making the request of the decision to deny such and the reason for the denial.
If a request is denied on the grounds that the personnel records are exempt under Section 10 of the Illinois Employee Records Act the notice of denial shall specify the exemption claimed. Section 10 provides that the right of the employee or the employee's designated representative to inspect his/her personnel records does not extend to:
| A. | letters of reference for that employee; | |
| B. | any portion of a test document, except that the employee may see a cumulative total test score for either a section of or the entire test document; | |
| C. | materials used by the employer for management planning, including but not limited to judgments, external peer review documents or recommendations concerning future salary increases and other wage treatments, management bonus plans, promotions and job assignments or other comments or ratings used for the employer's planning purposes; | |
| D. | information of a personal nature about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person's privacy; | |
| E. | records relevant to any other pending claim between the District and employee which may be discovered in a judicial proceeding; | |
| F. | investigatory or security records maintained by the District to investigate criminal conduct by an employee or other activity by the employee which could reasonably be expected to harm the District's property, operations, or education process or programs, or could by the employee's activity cause the District financial liability, unless and until the District takes adverse personnel action based on information in such records. |
The Superintendent shall be responsible for informing all employees about this policy and shall develop necessary procedures regarding the disclosure and access to personnel records.
Personnel wishing to review their own records shall:
| A. | request access in writing; | |
| B. | review the record in the presence of the executive secretary to the Superintendent designated to maintain said records or designee; | |
| C. | make no alterations or additions to the record nor remove any material therefrom; | |
| D. | sign a log attached to the file indicating date and person reviewing. |
Personnel wishing to appeal material in their record as to its accuracy, completeness, relevance, or timeliness shall make a request in writing to the executive secretary to the Superintendent delegated to maintain the records and specify therein:
| A. | name and date; | |
| B. | material to be appealed; | |
| C. | reason for appeal. |
The Superintendent shall hear the appeal and make a determination within ninety (90) days of the appeal in accordance with law.
The Superintendent shall prepare administrative guidelines defining which personnel records are to be maintained and the procedures for their maintenance and review.
Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 48, para. 2001