Right to Know » RTKL Rules for Inspection

RTKL Rules for Inspection

Rules for Inspection of Requested Documents 

 

  • Only the Requester, i.e. the individual who submitted the RTKL request, is permitted to participate in the inspection granted by the District.  Any other individual wishing to conduct or participate in the inspection must submit a separate RTKL request.
 
  • District staff may supervise the Requestor during the inspection. Records may not be removed from the building at any time during the inspection.
 
  • Appropriate conduct is required in the District's offices during the inspection. Examples of inappropriate conduct include, but are not limited to: shouting and/or unnecessarily loud speaking; use of profanity; verbal abuse of District staff; grabbing or touching District staff; defacing materials, removing or attempting to remove any records or other items, playing music in a way that is audible to others. Inspections will be terminated, or otherwise not permitted if there is or has been prior inappropriate conduct or if requisite fees have not been paid. No eating or drinking is permitted during the inspection of records.
 
  • Copies of records can be made by a Requestor during the inspection by use of the District’s photocopier.  So long as the requester agrees to pay any applicable duplication fee (25 cents per page), and can make immediate payment by cash or check, Requester will be permitted reasonable use of the photocopier of the District, but only for the purpose of making photocopies, and only when that device is not needed or in use by District staff.
 
  • Copying of a record by use of a cell phone camera or scanner is only permitted in concert with the Requestor’s use and execution of a records log to be provided by the District at the outset of any inspection.  Any record that is photographed or scanned by use of a cell phone must be recorded in the records log, including a description of the record captured by use of the cell phone.  Any violation of this condition shall be grounds for immediate termination of the inspection, and failure to accurately record cell phone captured records in the records log will be grounds for the District’s refusal to permit the use of cell phones in any subsequent inspection conducted by the Requestor.
 
  • At his or her own risk and expense, a requester may bring into the District office any of the following devices, so long as the device can be transported in and out without disruption of the operations of the District: a photocopier; a laptop computer or a scanner. Unless the requisite permission has been obtained in advance, Requesters are not permitted to bring cameras of any sort, including digital cameras, film cameras, cameras that shoot still photographs, cameras that capture moving images into the District office.  Prior permission is also required to bring any of the following into the inspection: tape recorders, video recording devices, radios, televisions, space heaters, and coffee makers. As indicated above, Requesters are permitted to bring cell phones into the inspection but only on the condition that any use of the cell phone as a method to make any copy or duplication of the inspected records must be accurately recorded by the Requestor in the records log provided by the District at the outset of the inspection.