Earlier this month, students in Mercer University’s Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism sent open records requests to agencies in Macon-Bibb, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties in an effort to check their compliance with Georgia’s law and gauge their accessibility to members of the public. You can see a list of all the grades here.
Agency: Houston County Schools
Records that were requested: Attendance rates from Houston County Schools Matt Arthur Primary School and C.B. Watson Primary School from August 2024.
When do you first hear back from the agency? After filing the request on Oct. 1, the agency responded with the information on Oct. 2.
Did the agency request a fee? The agency did not request a fee.
Describe the response: The response was speedy and fulfilled the request of attendance records from the two primary schools in its entirety.
Assign a grade for contact/process: A – Houston County Schools receives an A for the open records request process. The website clearly outlines Jennifer Jones as the open records point of contact, and lists her email.
Assign a grade for response: A – Houston County Schools receives another A for their response to the open records request. The law requires agencies to respond to requests within three business days. The agency replied within one day. The information was sufficient and free.
Grading scale for the ease of contacting agency staff and finding or filing for public records.
A: Agency uses an online portal or has a clearly defined process or contact on its website for requesting public records. An “A” agency may also readily provide the most commonly requested records on its website, including agendas and meeting minutes.
B: Agency has some public information online such as meeting agendas or meeting times, but additional information on how to request public information is not available. There is contact information available for staff.
C: Agency website has contact information for staff but nothing specific about how to request public information.
D: Agency has limited contact information on its website but it is not clearly labeled and/or easily accessible.
F: Agency contact information or how to get public records is not available on the website.
Grade scale for agency’s overall responsiveness and compliance with open records law
A: Provided records within the three-day window or less.
B Acknowledgedf the request within the three-day requirement, but records were provided after three days.
C: Acknowledged the request but then put forth a long timetable for response or requested a high fee or retrieval price for what should be a digital record and/or PDF that could be emailed.
D: Acknowledged the request but no further information or follow-up.
