THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Carole F. Huxley
COMMITTEE:	Cultural Education
TITLE OF ITEM:	Amendment of Sections 185.5 and 185.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education – Records Retention and Disposition Schedule ED-1
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	May 28, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Approval
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Approval of Proposed Regulations for Local Government Records Disposition
STRATEGIC GOAL:	2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY: 

 

          Attached is a proposed amendment of sections 185.5 and 185.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.  Additional supporting materials for the proposed amendment are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.

 

          Article 57-A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law defines the responsibilities of the Commissioner of Education to advise local governments on the development of programs for the creation, maintenance, preservation, reproduction, retention, and disposition of their records; on the development of micrographics systems, automated data processing systems, and other systems that rely on technology to create, store, manage, and reproduce information or records; and on the preservation and use of vital records and records of enduring value for historical or other research purposes.  The law authorizes the Commissioner of Education to issue records retention and disposition schedules for local government records.

 

          The purpose of the proposed amendment is to revise and update Records Retention and Disposition Schedule ED-1 (8 NYCRR, Section 185.12 - Appendix I). The proposed amendment has been recommended by the State Education Department after consultation with and review by the New York State Local Government Records Advisory Council.  Schedule ED-1 has been substantially revised since it was last issued in 1997.  The revised Schedule ED-1 contains 105 new items and 174 substantially revised items.  Working closely with other SED staff and receiving valuable input from local governments, State Archives staff added and revised items based on requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.  For the first time, records in certain automated systems used in many local governments are now covered by these schedules. Indices were updated to cover all new and revised items on the Schedule.  Copies of the complete schedule are available in the Regents Office for consultation. 

 

          A Notice of Proposed Rule Making was published in the State Register on April 7, 2004.  The proposed amendment was discussed at the May Regents meeting.

 

RECOMMENDATION:  It is recommended that the Board of Regents take the following action:

 

VOTED:  That paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of section 185.5 and section 185.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective July 15, 2004.

 

                   

Attachments

 

 

AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

                    Pursuant to section 207 of the Education Law and section 57.25 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law.

                    1. Paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of section 185.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 15, 2004, as follows:

                    (3)  Records retention and disposition schedule ED-1 (1988; [rev. 1997] rev. 2004), as set forth in section 185.12 of this Part and Appendix I of this Title, for school districts, boards of cooperative educational services, teacher resource and computer training centers and county vocational education and extension boards.

                    2.  Section 185.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 15, 2004, as follows:

                    Section 185.12  Records retention and disposition schedule ED-1, 1988; [rev.  1997] rev. 2004 (see Appendix I of this Title).

 

PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF SECTIONS 185.5 AND 185.12 OF THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION PURSUANT TO EDUCATION LAW SECTION 207 AND ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS LAW SECTION 57.25, RELATING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT

ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES RAISED BY PUBLIC COMMENT

          Since publication of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on April 7, 2004, the following comment was received:

COMMENT:

          Educational records such as National Honor Society student selection records should not be considered “records” within the meaning of Arts and Cultural Affairs Law.  The Department should consider amending Arts and Cultural Affairs Law to properly address the unique nature of educational institutions and student records.  In the interim, the Department should not include the National Honor Society student selection records item in Schedule ED-1.

DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:

          The Department interprets the term “records,” as defined in Section 57.17 of Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, to include records of school officials pertinent to their selection of students for membership in the National Honor Society and similar merit organizations.  Because the intent of Section 57-A of Arts and Cultural Affairs Law is to comprehensively cover all records created or received in the course of public business, no amendment is needed to exclude certain types of records from coverage under that law.  The proposed item for National Honor Society student selection records establishes appropriate retention periods for these records and is intended to protect the rights of students wishing to appeal selection decisions and to ensure that school officials have access to those records upon which such decisions were made in the event of such appeals.