Records Retention

Convenience Copy

An unofficial copy of a record and is maintained for ease of access and reference. A convenience copy has no retention period and can be destroyed at any time.

Custodian

The person that is charge of an office that creates or receives records.

Essential Record

Is any record necessary for the resumption or continuation of Round Rock ISD operations in an emergency or disaster, to the recreation of the legal and financial status of RRISD, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the school district.

Inactive Records

Records that must be maintained for a mandatory retention period but which are no longer needed in active office space. Typical inactive records are accessed at a rate of less than 1 search per file drawer per year while semi-active records are accessed at a rate of less than 1 search per file drawer per month.

Permanent Record

Is any RRISD record for which the retention period on a records retention schedule is given as permanent. A record that possesses enduring legal, fiscal or administrative value and must be preserved permanently by the district.

Record

Any document, paper, letter, book, map, photograph, sound or video recording, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic medium, or other information recording medium, regardless of physical form or characteristic and regardless of whether public access to it is open or restricted under the laws of the state, created or received by Round Rock ISD. The term does not include:

1. Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience of reference or research
2. Notes, journals, diaries, and similar documents created by employees for the employee’s personal convenience
3. Blank forms
4. Stocks of publications
5. Library and museum material acquired solely for the purposes of reference or display
6. Copies of documents in any media furnished to members of the public to which they are entitled

Records Control Schedule

A document prepared by or under the authority of the records management officer listing the records maintained by RRISD, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program may require.

Records Management

Is the application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records for the purposes of reducing the costs and improving the efficiency of record keeping. The term includes the development of records control schedules, the management of filing and information retrieval systems, the protection of essential and permanent records, the economical and space-effective storage of inactive records, control over the creation and distribution of forms, reports, and correspondence, and the management of micrographics and electronic and other records storage systems.

Records Retention Schedule

A document issued by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) under authority of Subchapter J, Chapter 441, government Code, establishing mandatory retention periods for RRISD.

Records Storage Center

The facility designed to provide storage and control for inactive records.

Retention Period

Is the minimum time that must pass after the creation, recording, or receipt of a record, or the fulfillment of certain actions associated with a record, before it is eligible for destruction.  The retention periods apply to records in any medium, apply only to the official record, do not apply to a convenience or working copy created for informational purposes.

 Records Retention Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for records retention?

All departments and campuses have a responsibility to preserve and protect all records that are under its control. The best way to do this is to understand the kinds of records that your department or campus creates and maintains and actively manage them. Each department or campus also has the responsibility to follow the polices and procedures of good records management as set out in this website.

What are the benefits of a records management program?

Records Management frees up physical storage space such as file cabinets, storerooms or frees up server space and allows departments to dispose of unneeded records with confidence. Proper records management reduces the volume of records that must be searched when responding to audits, requests for public information, subpoenas, and other administrative requirements. It also ensures compliance with federal and state records management laws, policies, and rules.

What is the difference between an official record and a convenience copy?

Every record is either an official record or a convenience copy. The official record is retained as the original, and subject to Round Rock ISD’s record control schedule requirements and disposition policies. Official records may be retained in any medium or format. Scanned images may be retained as the official, and the original can then be destroyed or managed as a convenience copy.

Convenience copies are extra, identical copies of documents created for convenience, reference, or research. Convenience copies are not subject to Round Rock ISD record control schedule requirements or disposition policy and may be destroyed when no longer needed.

Cautions: Convenience copies that contain confidential information must be destroyed in a manner that preserves confidentiality. A convenience copy retained AFTER the official copy is destroyed becomes the official record, subject to legal discovery and RRISD disposition policy. The recommended practice is to destroy convenience copies prior to or at the time of the official record.

Are emails considered government records?

Yes, most email messages you send and receive will be government records.  If an email message is documenting the unique transaction of government business, it is likely a record with retention requirements.

How long do you keep email?

It depends.  Email is a record format.  There is no single retention period for email, which is simply a medium used to transmit records.  We classify records created and received via  email into records series based on their content and function.

Are social media posts considered government records?

Yes, they can be.  If the information you are posting or receiving on a social media platform documents unique government business, the post is likely a government record.  If the information in the post is not unique or exists elsewhere, or it is not the official record copy, then it may be duplicate information, which has no retention requirements.

What is transitory information?

Transitory information is records of temporary usefulness consisting of routine information used for communication.  It may be deleted after it no longer has administrative value or after serving its purpose.

CAUTION: Before designating any record as transitory ensure that it is not listed as part of another records series in the Round Rock ISD Record Control Schedule. Records designated as transitory do not require authorization for disposal but departments and campuses should establish procedures governing disposal of these records as part of their departmental or campus records management plan.

In the Records Control Schedule, what do the retention codes AV, CE, CFR, FE, LA, TAC and US mean?

AV means “As long as administratively valuable”, a retention term that is applied to records with retention periods to be determined by the district.  CE means “Calendar Year End”.  CFR means “Code of Federal Regulations”, FE means “Fiscal Year End” (end date of 6/30/xx)”, LA mean the “life of asset”, and  US means “until superseded”  when the record is replaced by an updated version.

What if I do not see the document I am looking for on the official Round Rock ISD Records Retention Schedule?

Records Retention questions may be submitted using the Submit a Question (link) online form.

Does the Round Rock ISD pay for shredding documents that have met or exceeded the retention date?

Campuses are responsible for creating a purchase order to have their records shredded by a vendor that provides secure document destruction and will provide a certificate of destruction upon completion. Records that are being stored at the records storage center will be destroyed when the records have reached their retention period.  A list of vendors that provide secure document shredding services is available from the Purchasing Department.

What are the exceptions to the destruction of records?

A district record whose retention period has expired may not be destroyed if any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, public information request, administrative review, or other action involving the record is initiated:  its destruction shall not occur until the completion of the action and resolution of all issues that arise from it.

A local government record whose retention period expires during any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, public information request, administrative review, or other action involving the record may not be destroyed until the completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it.

Which records are held in the Round Rock ISD record storage center?

Administrative inactive records that have not reached the end of their retention period are transferred to the Records Storage Center until disposition.  Campuses will maintain original records on campus in a secure, organized and accessible storage area.  Administrative department records that are still in use will be maintained by the department in a secure, organized and accessible storage area. 

TSLAC Records Retention Schedules

The Records Management Officer has filed with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) a written declaration that the District has adopted records control schedules that comply with records retention schedules issued by the TSLAC as provided by law.
Record retention periods are listed in the following schedules for the destruction of records:

• Schedule SD  – Retention Schedule for Records of Public School Districts
• Schedule GR – Retention Schedule for Records Common to All Local Government
• Schedule EL – Retention Schedule for Records of Elections and Voter Registration
• Schedule TX – Retention Schedule for Records of Property Taxation

Local Government Laws and Rules

• Bulletin B –  Electronic Records Standards and Procedures
• Bulletin D –  Local Government Records Act

TSLAC Quick Reference Guides

• Email Records Quick Reference – Email Three-Step Drill
• Social Media Quick Reference – Are social media posts considered records?
• Disposition Quick Reference – The record life cycle

The Superintendent shall oversee the performance of records management functions prescribed by state and federal law:

• Records Administrator, as prescribed by Local Government Code 176.001 and 176.007 [See BBFA and CHE]
• Officer for Public Information, as prescribed by Government Code 552.201–.205 [See GBAA]
• Public Information Coordinator, as prescribed by Government Code 552.012 [See BBD]

Transfer Request Form