Text messages subject to disclosure under Public Records Act

Mercer Island School District public records officer Erin Battersby notified school board members on June 9 that text messages regarding school district business are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act.

The board policy regarding public access to district records was updated to reflect that text messages and other electronic communications by board directors and district employees about school district business are subject to disclosure, whether they are made on a personal or district-issued devices.

The update stemmed from a recent Washington state Supreme Court opinion, Nissen v. Pierce County, which found that a state employee’s texts on a private smartphone related to official business and was subject to the Public Records Act.

MISD to provide auxiliary aids upon request under new policy

Under a new district policy, the Mercer Island School District will be expected to provide auxiliary aids to individuals with hearing, vision or speech disability upon request at no cost to the individual.

Policy 4217, offered for consideration at the recommendation of the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA), aims to afford requestors with such disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in school district services, programs and activities.

Mercer Island School District public records officer Erin Battersby said the policy was new to most school districts across the state.

“It’s really encapsulating what other laws that are applied to the district make us do anyway,” Battersby addressed to School Board members.

The policy tracks the district’s obligations and what the district must do in accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title I of the newly reauthorized Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Title II of the ADA applies not only to students, but to all people with hearing, vision or speech disabilities who seek to participate in or benefit from the district’s programs, activities and services.

“That could be parents or any member of the public,” Battersby said. “Should they want to come to a board meeting or a play or a sporting event, it’s a way for them to accommodate that.”

Battersby said district officials would establish a procedure by which people may request such accommodations once the policy is approved.

Some examples mentioned, should they be requested, included close-captioning board meetings and using a sign language interpreter.