School district records shall be housed in a secure location at the administrative offices of the school district, schools, and departments. It will be the responsibility of the superintendent/designee, board secretary, and each department head or building administrator to oversee the maintenance and accuracy of school district records. The following records, including those in electronic format, will be safeguarded and accessible according to the following schedule:
Board Records/Length of Preservation
- Secretary’s Financial Records/Permanently
- Treasurer’s Financial Records/Permanently
- School District Election Results/Permanently
- Minutes of Board Open Meetings/Permanently
- Recordings and Minutes of Board Closed Session Meetings/One Year
School District Financial Records
- Annual Audit Reports/Permanently
- Annual Budget/Permanently
- Records of Payments of Judgement Against the School District/Twenty Years
- Bonds and Bond Coupons/Eleven Years
- Written Contracts Between the School District and Outside Groups/Ten Years
- Federal Project/Program Files/Five Years after Completion of Activity for which are used
- Canceled Warrants, Check Stubs, Bank Statements, Bills, Invoices, and Supporting Records/Five Years
- School Meal Programs Accounts/Records/Three Years after Submission of the Final Claim
- Program Grants/As Determined by the Grant
School District Real Estate Records
- Real Property Records (i.e. Deeds, Abstracts)/Permanently
Student Records
- Permanent Record of Individual Students/Permanently
Employee Records
- Employee Tax Records/Five Years
- Employee I-9 Records/Later of Three Years after Hire or One Year after Termination
- Employee Payroll and Salary Records: Three Years after Payment
- Employee Records, Except Payroll and Salary Records/Two Years after Termination of Employment
- Employment Application Records/One Year after Position is Filled
In the event that any federal or state agency requires a record be retained for a period of time longer than that listed above for audit purposes or otherwise, the record shall be retained beyond the listed period as long as is required for the resolution of the issue by the federal or state agency.
The superintendent or designee and board secretary may convert school district records to an electronic format and may destroy paper copies of the records once converted. A properly authenticated electronic reproduction of a paper record meets the same legal requirements as the original record.
- First Adoption:
- 1983-04-19
- Revision Adoption:
- June 30, 1993/ September 7, 1997/ October 11, 2009/ June 27, 2021
- Reviewed Dates:
- June 28, 1989
- Legal Reference:
- Chapter 22, 279.8, 291.6, 291.7, 291.8, 291.10, 721.10, Code of Iowa; 281 I.A.C. 12.3(1), 12.3(4)