805.1 SCHOOL DISTRICT RECORDS

The secretary of the Board shall keep records according to the schedule in Code 805.1R.

All personnel records shall be kept and preserved by the Secretary of the Board and shall be housed in the Administrative offices of the School District. All personnel records shall be retained permanently and periodically scanned to be stored electronically.

The Superintendent may electronically store and/or back-up or use any other reliable mass storage method to preserve school district records and may destroy paper copies of the records if they are more than three (3) years old.

*Reviewed: 05/13/02

*Revised: 02/12/07

*Reviewed: 04/12/10

*Revised: 12/13/10

*Revised: 03/09/15

*Reviewed: 09/09/19

805.1R Record Retention

Officers and directors of corporations have two essential duties to which their actions must conform. The first is a fiduciary duty to act with complete loyalty, honesty, good faith and in the best interests of the corporation. Iowa Code ' 490.830(l)(a). The second requirement is a duty of care. The duty of care is the objective standard by which directors action are measured. The duty of care states that directors must act with the same care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances. Iowa Code ' 490.830(l)(b).

The duty of care requires directors and officers of a board to keep and maintain appropriate records of the corporation. In fact, the Iowa Code states that a school corporation is required to file and preserve copies of all reports made and all papers transmitted pertaining to the business of the corporation, a complete record of the minutes of all meetings, records of all elections, and an accurate and complete accounting of all money spent and claims made. Iowa Code ' 291.6. The Iowa Supreme Court has stated that a governing body should establish policies and procedures for retaining records which must be kept and disposing of those it has no duty to maintain. Clark v. Banks, 515 N.W.2d 5, 7 (Iowa 1994).

Generally, federal and state laws dictate the length of time which some records must be kept. Iowa law makes no particular reference to the length of retention of school district records except that the school board is authorized to make rules and regulations for the care of school property (279.8). The Statute of Limitations (Chapter 614 and the Iowa Municipal Record Manual,1982,) are the basis for the following suggested retention procedures for just some of the documents you may encounter in the school business office. Please note that in many cases, where the retention period is not governed by state or federal law, these are suggested guidelines only and each retention case may warrant an individual review.

It is also suggested that school districts explore the economics of electronic storage of all permanent district records. Iowa law expressly provides that if a law requires that a record be retained, the requirement is satisfied by retaining an electronic record of the information in the record which does both of the following: a) Accurately reflects the information set forth in the record after it was first generated in its final form as an electronic record or otherwise and b) Remains accessible for later reference. Iowa Code ' 554D.114.

LEGAL DOCUMENT	RETENTION
The official minutes of the school board, including resolutions	Permanently
Board meeting agendas	2 years
Detailed minutes and audio tapes of closed sessions	1 year beyond the date of the meeting
A copy of board policies	Until superseded
Oaths of Office	Permanently with the minutes
Fidelity bonds of officials	5 years after expiration
Bids accepted	5 years
Bids rejected	1 year beyond audit
Citizens petitions	3 years after close of issue
Ballots	6 months after the election if not contested
Articles of Incorporation	Permanently
Records of patents, copyrights, trademarks etc.	Permanently
CORRESPONDENCE
Financial correspondence	5 years
Personnel correspondence	7 years after termination
Credit and collection correspondence	7 years
General correspondence	3 years of as long as administratively useful or of historical value
FINANCIAL REPORTS AND RECORDS
Secretary’s and Treasurer’s financial accounting records	Permanently (general ledger, annual financial report, CAR)
Disbursement journals/register, receipt journals/register, check register, general journals and bank statements	10 years
Canceled warrants, check stubs, bills, invoices, receipts, purchase orders, requisitions, petty cash vouchers, cost accounting commutations, investment records, and bank reconciliations	5 years
Records and report regarding uncollectible accounts	10 years
Interim financial reports	5 years
Claims for sales tax or fuel tax refunds Also licensed distributors, dealers and users must retain for 3 years hard copies of bills of lading or manifests, purchase invoices, copies of sales invoices, exemption certificates, purchase records, sales records, copies of reports filed with the Department of Revenue, Iowa export schedules, copies of credit memos and canceled checks and cash register	5 years
Audits	Permanently
BUDGET
Budget estimate worksheets	5 years
Final budget and certification summary	Permanently
Budget amendments	Permanently
Certified enrollment officials summaries	Permanently
FIXED ASSET RECORDS
Documents relating to fixed asset	5 years beyond disposal of fixed asset
Fixed asset repair records	3 years
Inventories	5 years
Documents relating to real property transactions Includes such things as deeds, title, opinions, abstracts, appraisals, certificate of title, title insurance, condemnation proceedings, easement and right of way agreements, plats and alterations of plats, blueprints and other structural plans or specifications and annexation files.)	Permanently
LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Written contracts	10 years beyond the end of the contract
Purchase or service agreements for equipment or supplies	5 years after expiration
Record of payment or judgments against the district	20 years
Accidents on school property, settled out of court	10 years after settlement
Accidents on school property, court decisions	Permanently
Fire damage reports	5 years
Insurance policies	3 years after expiration
Special events permits and licenses	3 years
BOND ISSUES
Bond certificates	11 years after final recall (or possibly permanently)
Redeemed coupons should be stamped and paid	11 years
Bond register	Permanently
Records and documents pertaining to cancellation, transfer, redemption or replacement of public bonds or obligations	Preserved by the issuer or its agent for a period of not less than 11 years
Other records related to bonds	During the outstanding period of the bonds, (plus any refunding bonds) plus 3 years
STUDENT RECORDS
The individual permanent record of each pupil 34 CFR 300.573 requires that a school inform parents when personally identifiable information collected, maintained or used for special education purposes is no longer needed to provide educational services to the child. At the request of the parents, that information must be destroyed. This does not include the permanent record information of name, address, grades, attendance record etc., which still may be maintained without time limit. The district may want to caution parents that there are many good reasons why they might not want their child’s special education record destroyed such as the potential future need to prove disability for SSI or SS disability purposes.	Permanently either in its original form or electronic media except as listed next
FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Child nutrition records pertaining to participation, financial information and free and reduced price meal applications	3 years in addition to the current fiscal year. this is the federal fiscal year, so it really is 4 years. Records of an unresolved audit must be retained until that audit is resolved
JTPA contracts and claims	5 years
Asbestos medical records or records of licensure	Minimum of 30 years
Generally records related to federal aid	5 years if audited. If there is a non-compliance problem/questioned cost, the records should be retained 3 years after settlement
AFFIDAVITS OF PUBLICATION
Regarding budget	Until audited or 5 years
Regarding bond issues	5 years after final recall
Regarding other issues	5 years except real estate which should be kept permanently if proof not filed with deed.
UNION/ASSOCIATION RECORDS
Negotiation records	As long as administratively useful
Master contracts	Permanently
Case files	10 years
EMPLOYEE ACCIDENTS
Employer reports	5 years
OSHA reports	5 years
Worker compensation reports	5 years after final payment, however, if the case may result in future claims, the reports should be retained 60 years
PAYROLL
Payroll journals	60 years
Supporting payroll documentation	5 years
W-2s, W-3s, W-4s, 941s, deposits, 1099s, 1096s	5 years
Iowa withholding reports, job service reports	5 years
PERSONNEL RECORDS
Job descriptions	Permanently
Applications and resumes of those hired	60 years
Applications and resumes of those not hired	3 years
Results of tests/placements of those hired	60 years
Employment contracts	10 years after termination
Evaluations, continuing education records, employee medical exams	60 years
Resignations and reasons for termination	60 years
IPERS claims	60 years
Unemployment claims	5 years
Garnishment records	3 years beyond closure
Enrollments for direct deposits, insurance etc	As long as current
Health insurance payments and claims	5 years
EEO-4 Reports	5 years
EEO Plans	As long as current

*Adopted: 04/13/15

*Reviewed: 09/09/19