Public Information Requests

Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer's agent may not ask why you want them. All government information is presumed to be available to the public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of the information. Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception to disclosure has not been sought.

Public Information Requests FAQs

How do I submit a Public Information Request?

College Station Independent School District, as a local governmental entity, is subject to the requirements of the Texas Public Information Act.

ALL REQUESTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING (EMAIL IS ACCEPTABLE) AND SHOULD CONTAIN:

Your name,
Address,
Phone number,
Fax number, or email address,and
Description of the information and/or document being requested, or you may download a Open Records Request Form

In person:

College Station Independent School District
Austin Dunson
1812 Welsh Ave.
College Station, TX 77840

By email:

adunson@csisd.org

By mail:

College Station Independent School District
Austin Dunson
1812 Welsh Ave.
College Station, TX 77840

When will my request be fulfilled?

Timelines

As provided by the Texas Public Information Act, College Station ISD will provide the requested information promptly. Depending upon the complexity of the request, volume of other pending requests, and/or nonbusiness day calendar this is typically 10 business days. If the District is unable to complete your request within 10 business days, the requestor will be notified of the date the District expects to complete the request. If the request includes information that the District believes is confidential we will provide a written explanation or seek an opinion from the Attorney General, if required.

The District will make a good faith effort to ask requesters clarifying questions if a request is overly broad or includes a large volume of information. While the District will not ask about the purpose of your request, clarifying or narrowing the request may assist in processing requests efficiently and potentially reduce fees that could be incurred by broad or voluminous requests.

Nonbusiness Days

Complying with the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) requires adherence to timelines that reference “Business Days”, but no formal meaning had ever been established. The law now formally defines the meaning by clarifying business days DO NOT include the following:

Weekends – Saturdays or Sundays
National Holidays (i.e., New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, & Christmas Day)
State Holidays (i.e., Confederate Heroes Day, Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day, Texas Emancipation Day, Lyndon Baines Johnson Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the 24th & 26th of December)
Optional Holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or Good Friday if the Public Information Officer of the governmental body observes the holiday.
Friday or Monday before or after a national or state holiday if the holiday falls on the weekend and the governmental body observes the holiday on that Friday or Monday.
Up to 10 additional Designated Non Business Days per calendar year on which administrative offices are closed or operating with minimum staffing. Designation of non business days for a school district must be made by the Board of Trustees.

View CSISD's Public Information Request Calendar

Are there fees associated with Public Information Requests?

College Station ISD charges fees authorized by the Texas Public Information Act. If the fees will result in a charge exceeding $40.00, the District will provide the requestor with a written estimate detailing the charges that will be imposed. A list of allowable charges for processing requests in accordance with the Texas Public Information Act are as follows:

$0.10 per page for paper copies
$1.00 per CD
$3.00 per DVD
Actual Costs for a USB or hard drive
$15.00 per hour for labor
Twenty percent of the labor as overhead
$28.50 per hour for programming

If a request exceeds $100, a 50% deposit is required to begin processing.

Public Information Requests will be considered automatically withdrawn if a requester does not respond in writing within ten (10) business days of the date of a cost estimate statement that you:

accept the charges and provide a deposit of at least 50% of the estimated cost (if applicable);
modify the request in response to the estimate; or
have sent, or are sending a complaint regarding the charges to the attorney general.

Responses may be sent by electronic mail, facsimile, regular mail, or delivered in person.

If you have questions regarding alternative, less costly methods to view responsive information, contact adunson@csisd.org.

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Public Information Requests