DOCJT Open Records Request Policy/Procedure
I. Purpose
The purpose of this directive is to establish policy for agency records.
II. Policy
It shall be the policy of the Department of Criminal Justice Training to maintain agency records to ensure availability, retention, destruction, privacy, and security in compliance with all appropriate regulations and subject to Kentucky Revised Statutes 171.410-740 and make public records available for inspection or copying subject to Kentucky Revised Statutes 61.870 – 61.884.
III. Definitions
A record is any documentation of agency activities or administration regardless of physical form as defined in KRS 61.870 “Public Records”.
IV. Procedure
A. The Records Section supervisor is the official custodian of records for the Department of Criminal Justice Training and shall serve as the Records Custodian.
B. All agency records shall be maintained and/or destroyed in accordance with currently approved agency and state records and retention schedules unless otherwise directed by the commissioner, or designee.
C. Access and Release of Records
1. Requests to access agency records shall be directed to the records custodian who shall copy the Office of Legal Services as needed.
2. Records that contain grades shall not be released to anyone except the student or his/her current employer.
a) Other Persons or agencies must have written authorization by the student, or through a recognized court order, to receive such information.
b) If a student is no longer employed by a particular law enforcement agency, that law enforcement agency must have written permission or authority of the student to obtain copies of the training record.
c) The restrictions herein do not apply to the commissioner, deputy commissioner, or directors, of the Department of Criminal Justice Training.
3. Email messages that are either created or maintained by DOCJT employees may be public records and may be subject to open records requests under KRS chapter 61.
a) The Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) is responsible for the retention of emails that reside on state email servicers per COT policy.
b) The Administrative Division Director or designee, IT or COT assigned staff shall not view employee’s emails without a completed COT-084 form, which includes approval from the Office of Legal Services and the Commissioner.
4. Any employee requested to provide an agency record shall advise the requesting party to contact the Records Custodian with the official request.
5. Employees providing agency records to other agency employees for approved organizational processes shall have the authority to provide these records without referral to the Records Custodian.
D. Physical Security and Controlling Access to Files and Records
1. All administrative staff, instructors, and supervisors in possession of records, before their transfer to the Records Section, shall ensure that physical records are secure (i.e., locked office, desk, or file cabinet) and accessible by authorized personnel only. This includes records that are compiled during the actual presentation of training courses (e.g., consent and student rosters, test copies, etc.). Such records, if left unattended, shall be secured so that they are inaccessible to unauthorized persons.
2. Records shall be securely maintained by the Records Section until final disposition as prescribe by the Records Retention Schedule.
E. Transcript Records
1. Official student training transcripts shall only be provided by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council
2. DOCJT may provide a training history report of training completions to students for its training courses that include the name of the course, dates, and final completion status.
F. Course Completions
1. Upon completion of each course, if a course record is not being maintained within the agency’s training management system, the appropriate training section shall submit course information required by current state and agency records and retention schedules to the Records Section.
a) The Records Section Supervisor shall provide a checklist of current required course records to the Administrative Support Section for all courses by December 31, each year, on an annual basis or as updated by statute, administrative regulation, and state and agency records and retention schedules.
b) The Records Section shall review submitted course record documentation and determine what records to maintain and request additional records as required.
c) Additional records not required by statute, administrative regulation, and state and agency records and retention schedules may be included within the course completion records if approved by an agency director, deputy commissioner, or commissioner.
2. A course shall be closed out in the agency’s training management system within two weeks of its ending date unless otherwise approved by the Training Operations Division Director or designee or waiting on retest results.
a) Prior to the closing of a class the appropriate final status for the course and all students shall be entered into the agency’s training management system.
b) The final status shall be reviewed and approved by the Administrative Support Section supervisor before closing a class.
c) Upon the closing of the class a notification of final status will be sent to the student and their training director.
3. Any corrections to a student’s test or assignment scores or final completion status shall be forwarded to the Administrative Division Director or designee and the Records Section Supervisor or designee along with an explanation for the change of record.
a) A comment shall be placed in the class record in the agency’s training management system of any changes to students' grades or completion status explaining the reason for the change.
4. Final completion status for the course will be maintained within
5. Upon successful completion of a training course, students will receive an electronic certificate.
G. Course Failures
1. In the event of a course failure, written notice of the failure shall be provided within seven days to the employing agency and student.
a) The written notice shall explain the procedures and time frame for re-testing as outlined in KAR.
b) If an agency fails to respond to the request for retest within the time allocated by KAR or the student fails the retest provided the student's final status shall be listed as failed.
2. Once a final failure status is listed within the agency’s training management system, a failure notice shall be forwarded to the Administrative Division assistant director, or designee, for potential payment invoice responsibilities as defined in KAR.
3. The appropriate class coordinator and section supervisor shall review and attest to the accuracy of grades by either signature or an authorized electronic verification within the agency’s training management system.
H. Records Committee
1. A Records Committee is established for records maintenance. This committee shall:
a) Be headed by the Records Section Supervisor;
b) Meet quarterly;
c) Discuss agency records management needs and disseminate them to agency personnel;
d) Identify policy recommendations related to records management;
e) Identify what records need to be maintained and what records need to be destroyed;
f) Make recommendations for changes in agency records and retention schedules;
g) Identify training needs for agency employees related to records management; and
h) Report any recommendations to the Administrative Division Director or designee.
2. Members of the Records Committee shall include a representative from the following areas selected by the person in charge of the area represented.
a) Office of the Commissioner
b) Communications Section
c) Staff Services and Planning Section
d) IT Section
e) Administrative Support Section
f) Instructional Design Section
g) One branch manager from each division
h) One section supervisor from each division
i) Human Resource branch
j) Office of Legal Services
k) Compliance Section
3. Meetings will be based on a preset agenda and may not require attendance by all members. The Records Section supervisor will determine which members of the committee should be invited to each meeting.
4. Meeting minutes shall be provided to the Administrative Division director or designee.
I. Open Records Requests
1. The Records Custodian may not require any particular form but open records requests may be submitted on the Office of Attorney General Standardized Open Records Form, 2021 Standardized Open Records Request, or on official letterhead, and be signed by the requesting party, pursuant to KRS 61.872. The request may be delivered to the Records Custodian in person, by mail, or via electronic means. The requesting party shall describe the records to be inspected and indicate if the request is submitted for a commercial or noncommercial purpose. The request may be delivered, mailed, or sent electronically to:
Department of Criminal Justice Training
ATTN: Denna Brockman, Official Records Custodian
4449 Kit Carson Drive
Richmond, KY 40475
Fax: 859-622-8387
Phone: 859-622-5924
2. If a request for copies is made, the agency may charge a fee, limited to the actual cost of reproduction, including material, postage, and mechanical reproduction costs, but not including the cost of personnel required to copy the records, as authorized by KRS 61.874.
a) The requesting party may be required to pay a higher charge, to include copying and personnel cost, if the records are intended to be used for a commercial purpose.
b) All fees are payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer and shall be forwarded, with the invoice, to the Accounting Section supervisor for deposit.
c) Requests sent electronically may not be charged a fee.
3. As prescribed by KRS 61.880(1), the Records Custodian, or their designee, must respond to any request for records in writing and within five working days.
a) If the records cannot be produced within five days, the Records Custodian, or their designee, shall issue a response to the requesting party, with a detailed explanation for the cause of the delay, stating the earliest date the records will be available.
4. The Open Records Act permits a public agency to withhold certain records, pursuant to the applicable statutory exemptions.
J. Responsibility
1. It shall be the responsibility of the Administrative Division director to ensure compliance with this policy.
a) If the agency denies all or any part of an open records request, it must inform the requesting party of which exemption it is relying upon and explain how the exemption applies to the record.
2. All inspection or copying of public records of the Department of Criminal Justice Training shall be carried out under the supervision of the Records Custodian or their designee. This shall be done during regular office hours and at a time and place to be specified by the custodian of records.