Operating Guidelines
Book:	Operating Guidelines
Section:	E - Business Management
Title:	Electronic Records
Number:	EHC
Status:	Active
Legal:	O.C.G.A. 50-18-70, 50-18-72, 50-18-90, 50-18-120 Reference: Approved Retention Schedules for Fulton County Schools
Adopted:	09/25/2006
Last Revised:
Last Reviewed:

Policy Detail

The approved retention schedules adopted by Fulton County Board of Education shall be applied to electronic records, as well as paper records. Electronic records, including email, shall be considered just as we consider a printed document when we think in terms of retention. The retention is determined by the content, not the format of the record. Any saved electronic record or email is subject to an open records request and/or subpoena, so it is not recommended to keep anything past the scheduled retention period.

All electronic records must be readable for as long as the record is needed to be retained. They must also be secured from unauthorized access or alteration and filed in systems that provide the appropriate level of security. No record with a retention period of more than 10 years shall be retained solely in electronic form.

Microfilm

When microfilm is to serve as or in place of the original record, the following requirements must be met:

· Microfilm images must contain all the recorded information shown on the original documents and be free of obstructions, shadows, or glare which may impair the legibility of the documents.
· Only silver-gelatin film with polyester film base may be used to replace original records that have a retention period of twenty years or more.
· When the original paper document is replaced with microfilm, the master negative film can be used to produce a second generation silver copy for use as a duplicating master. Once the second generation copy is produced, the master negative should be placed with the Georgia Department of Archives.
· The records’ custodian or Records Management Department must certify that the film is complete and accurate.
· If the microfilm produced meets all legal requirements, the original document may be destroyed in accordance with the 1/18/96 Resolution of the State Records Committee.
Document Imaging Systems

All document imaging systems used to image records shall meet the State records requirements for document imaging. The system must be compliant according to state and legal requirements. Update access shall be restricted, but shall be granted to FCS employees at the location where the data originated or whenever feasible. Records that must be protected from alteration shall be safeguarded in electronic formats that cannot be altered. These documents shall be scanned and saved as unalterable image files.

Email Retention

It is the responsibility of every FCS employee to maintain his/her own email. The responsibility for retaining email is that of the CREATOR, not the RECEIVER. The RECEIVER may keep the email for whatever useful period of time desired, but is not required to retain it according to law.

Before deleting emails sent or received by Fulton County School District personnel, the content of the emails shall be identified. The emails shall only be deleted if the applicable retention schedules have been met. FCS employees shall retain email in Outlook on its email servers. These emails may be transferred to other electronic media as long as they are accessible and retrievable according to law and in accordance with its approved retention schedule. Although email messages may be printed, this is not the preferred method for maintaining email messages.

FCS employees shall trash all junk mail and empty their trash folder on a regular basis. Business-related email shall be sorted and the emails that document business processes, such as messages documenting the formulation and adoption of policies and procedures or the management of programs or functions, as well as messages of a facilitative nature created or received in the course of administering programs shall be saved and retained based on the applicable retention schedule. Emails that document important transactions and decisions or emails that may have future legal relevance shall also be saved and retained based on the applicable retention schedule. Emails that do not need to be retained include messages of short-term interest with no documentary value, which is also known as transitory. The approved retention schedules for FCS shall be applied to the content of the email to determine the length of time each record must be retained.

Cross References: Electronic Records Policy - EHC