The Kansas Open Records Act

You have the right to request assistance from the University's Freedom of Information Officer at any time.

You have the right:

• To inspect and obtain copies of public records which are not exempted from  disclosure by a specific law.
• To obtain a copy of the agency's policies and procedures for access to records.
• To receive a written response to your request within three business days. The response may inform you that it will take additional time to produce the records.
• To file a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General if you feel your request for public records is wrongfully denied.

You must request records - written, photographic, or computerized. The Kansas Open Records Act does not require an agency to answer questions, prepare reports, or compile information.

An agency may require you to put your request in writing, and you must provide proof of your identity, if requested.

Reasonable fees, not exceeding actual cost, may be charged for access to records, copies of records, and staff time for processing your request.

The Kansas Open Records Act recognizes that certain records contain private or privileged information, and the agency is not required to provide access to those records. The Act lists several exceptions, including but not limited to: 

• Records closed by the rules of evidence
• Personnel records of public employees
• Medical treatment records
• Criminal investigation records
• Notes, preliminary drafts, or records in which opinions are expressed or actions are proposed
• Records for which disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
• Proprietary business information
• Records protected by attorney/client privilege
• For the complete list, see K.S.A. §45-221(a)

Records more than 70 years old may be disclosed without regard to the above-listed exemptions, unless exempt under other federal or state law.

Records only partially exempt will have the exempt portions excluded prior to production. Records that would unduly disclose individual identities may be produced if exclusion of identifying portions would prevent identification.

Nothing in the Kansas Open Records Act supersedes federal law, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). While FERPA permits disclosure of student “Directory Information” without student consent, KU’s Student Records Policy does not define email addresses in bulk as Directory Information; therefore listings of multiple student email addresses are not produced for any purpose. KU also does not produce listings of student names and addresses for commercial purposes pursuant to K.S.A. §45-230.  

Commensurate with the actual costs in University employee time and resources, fees shall be charged for the retrieval, review, and production of public records. In accordance with K.S.A. §45-219, the following fee rates are established by the agency’s head and may be applied, with payment of total estimated fees required by check or money order in advance of records production:

• Senior manager rate based upon the highly paid employee’s annual salary/hourly pay rate
• Manager rate for retrieval and/or review: $65/hour
• Staff rate for retrieval and/or assembly to produce: $33/hour
• Specialized computer retrieval: $50/hour
• Digital transmission or mailing fee: $1.50

If the actual cost in time and resources exceeds the fee estimate, the requestor will be billed for the balance of fees incurred, with full payment required before records production. If the actual cost is less than the fee estimate, the requestor will be refunded any difference over $5.00.