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Public Records Requests

This page provides information about making a public records request at Seattle Colleges: 

  • Section 1 provides information about the process.
  • Section 2 offers guidance to employees approached with public records requests.

Seattle Colleges utilizes an online portal for the intake and fulfillment of public records requests. To make a new request or access your pending records request, go to the Public Records Portal.

Public Records Manager  
206.934.4436  
Precords@seattlecolleges.edu

Section 1: Making a Public Records Request

In 1972, Washington enacted the Public Records Act to assure citizens of the state transparency and access to government. As a state agency, we are subject to the provisions of the Washington state public disclosure laws (RCW 42.56) governing access to public records and will respond accordingly. There may be exemptions to disclosure that may prohibit the college from releasing certain documents. The college will provide a brief explanation for any exemption to disclosure.

Submit a request online; or

Email a request to us at Precords@seattlecolleges.edu. Make sure to include the following information:

  • Your name, email address, and telephone number
  • A detailed description of the requested record(s)
  • Indicate in what format you would like to receive the documents:
    • Review records at the college;
    • Have paper copies mailed;
    • Have documents emailed, or;
    • Retrieve documents from the online portal

Within five business days (the day of submission is counted as day 0) of receiving a request, the college will:

  • Acknowledge the request and ask for additional clarification(s), or;
  • Acknowledge the request and provide an estimated timeline by which the records will be provided, or;
  • Provide the requested documents, or;
  • Notify that no record exists

Note: Records may be provided in installments.

As outlined in Washington’s Public Records Act, RCW 42.56, agencies may charge to recover the actual cost of making and providing copies of records when fulfilling requests. Additional details can be found in Washington Administrative Code, WAC 132F-168-060. Please note that we may require a deposit of up to 10 percent of the estimated costs of copying all the records selected by the requestor, before making copies. If the records are provided in installments, we may require payment of the costs of copying an installment before providing the installment. Please see below for our fee schedule:

  • There is no fee for inspecting records.
  • $0.11 per page for production of black and white paper copies.
  • $0.13 per page for production of color paper copies.
  • $0.05 per four documents uploaded to email or cloud storage for download.
  • $0.06 per page scanned from paper or nonelectronic records.
  • Cost of postage for copies or CD/DVDs sent through the mail.
  • Cost of CD/DVD if electronic records are too large to be sent through email or cloud format or if documents are requested in this format.

The district reserves the right to use outside vendors for large projects when an outside vendor can provide copies quicker or for less cost. The requestor will be required to pay the cost charged by the vendor.

Payment may be made by cash, check, or money order, payable to:

Seattle Colleges
1500 Harvard Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

  • Provide a written request for review to the records officer.
  • The request will be reviewed by the appropriate vice chancellor.

For more information regarding petitioning denials of public records, visit: WAC 132F-168-040

Some records are exempt from public disclosure law. Following are some examples:

  1. Student Records: The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable information in student education records without the student's written consent. Redacted records (or portions of records) are student records protected from disclosure under RCW 42.56.070 (1) and 20 U.S.C. §1232g.
  2. Attorney-Client Privilege: RCW 5.60.060 (2) (a) protects communications between an attorney and the attorney’s client(s) for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice. The attorney-client privilege also protects communications within a client agency to gather information for obtaining legal advice or to convey attorney-client communications. Redacted records (or portions of records) are privileged attorney-client communications protected from disclosure under RCW 42.56.070 (1) and 5.60.062 (2)(a).
  3. Attorney Work Product: RCW 42.56.290 protects attorney work product, consisting of drafts, notes, memoranda, research, attorney-client communications, and other records prepared, collected, or assembled in litigation or in anticipation of litigation that reveal factual or investigative information or that reflect the opinions or mental impressions of an attorney or attorney's agent(s). Redacted records (or portions of records) consist of attorney work product protected from disclosure under RCW 42.56.290.
  4. Public Employees—Applications: RCW 42.56.250 (2) protects applications for public employment, including the names of applicants, resumes, and other related materials submitted with respect to an applicant for public employment. Records (or portions of records) marked are public employee application materials protected from disclosure under RCW 42.56.290.
  5. Public Employees—Personal Information: RCW 42.56.250 (4) protects the personal addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, and emergency contact information of public employees and volunteers, as well as the names, birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers of dependents. Redacted records (or portions of records) are exempt from disclosure as personal employee information protected under RCW 42.56.250 (3).
  6. Public Employees—Personnel Files: RCW 42.56.250 (2), 42.56.230 (3) and 42.56.050 protect personal information in files maintained for public employees to the extent that disclosure would violate their right to privacy. Redacted records (or portions of records) are exempt from disclosure as containing private information in employee files protected under RCW 42.56.250 (2) and 42.56.050.
  7. Personal Financial Information: RCW 42.56.230 (5) protects personal financial information, including credit/debit card numbers, electronic check numbers, credit expiration dates, or bank or other financial account numbers. Redacted records (or portions of records) are withheld as containing personal financial information protected under RCW 42.56.230 (5)
  8. Social Security Numbers: Portions of public records marked are withheld as containing individual Social Security numbers protected from disclosure under RCW 42.56.230 (5) and 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a).
  9. Systems Security: RCW 42.56.420 (4) protects information regarding the infrastructure and security of computer and telecommunications networks, including security passwords, security access codes and programs, and access codes for secure software applications. Redacted records (or portions of records) are withheld as containing systems security information protected from disclosure under RCW 42.56.420 (4).

All information that you provide Seattle Colleges, even your email communications, is considered public records. As a public organization, Seattle Colleges is required to respond to public records requests and disclose information from its purchasing records that may consist of other vendors’ confidential information. Therefore, please do not include any sensitive information or materials such as trade secrets or proprietary information in your official bids, proposals, quotations, or correspondences. If you do so and do not want disclosure of such information, you must hire an attorney to file an injunction.

Please note, the Records Index is not an exhaustive list of of the Colleges' public records. If you are unsure if a record exists, please submit a request through our Public Records portal, or contact PRecords@seattlecolleges.edu.

Section 2: Guidance for Seattle Colleges Employees

The accordion boxes below provide detailed guidance to employees dealing with public records requests. 

Most people requesting public records simply want to know how to submit a public records request. In this scenario, employees can refer anyone to the information about the process on our district website on this page (refer to the information above). The public records manager works with these requests and has an office located at the district office in Siegal Center.

Providing these individuals with the above information will typically satisfy their immediate request. If not, employees are encouraged to refer the individual to their college communications director or to district communications. 

Employees contacted by members of the media (this could be someone from a recognizable news organization or someone who identifies themself as a journalist), should refer these individuals to our official media contacts across Seattle Colleges. These communications staff members can help reporters and journalists get the information they need as well as consider or facilitate interview requests.  

Even if employees are contacted for a "feel good" interview where they believe the coverage will be positive, it is important to refer reporters and journalists to our media contact staff. This keeps appropriate people in the loop who can share the good news with the campus community and general public once published. 

A recent trend at public colleges and universities is the “First Amendment Audit,” where private citizens record video interactions with public officials—whether during board meetings or day-to-day activities of college employees. These private citizens may ask for a "public records index" or other public records information while recording the interactions with a camera. Our public records index is posted online on the Public Records Requests webpage (this page, above, last accordion box titled Public Records Index).  

The intended purpose is to “test” the college’s response to see if the college employee will violate the person’s First Amendment rights. Some may even try to provoke a negative interaction to capture on video.  

Being recorded without consent can be unnerving, but Seattle Colleges is an open access, public institution on publicly owned property. Therefore, employees, students, and members of the public have protected rights that allow recording, via audio or video, in our public spaces on campus. This includes recording employees.  

Examples of public areas include hallways, department foyers and lobbies, and open counters for walk-up foot traffic. Individuals do not have the right to freely enter and record areas of the college that are not open to the general public, like offices and classrooms, without the consent of a college employee.

If you find yourself in this situation as an employee, try to stay calm, avoid escalation, and provide support as you would to anyone else. Refer to the frequently asked questions below for strategies to employ with these members of the public.

Frequently Asked Questions Related to Video-Recording in Public Facilities

The information below is shared by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and is intended to provide guidance on how to professionally engage with a "First Amendment auditor" or “private citizen auditor." 

Q: Do “First Amendment auditors” have the right to record college employees in the performance of their duties?

Most colleges are largely open to the public, and auditors may enter any areas that are open to the public, just like anyone else. There is generally no expectation of privacy in public conversations between college employees and other staff, students, or members of the public. Thus, the right to record college employees in the performance of their duties likely extends to work that occurs in areas open to the public.

Auditors do not have the right to access areas of the college that are off-limits to the general public — such as private offices, classrooms, residence halls, and labs — without the consent of a college employee. 
 

Q: What can college employees do if “First Amendment auditors” request, or insist upon, access to a limited access or non-public area?

College employees should remain calm, respond in a professional manner, and avoid escalating the interaction. Assist the auditor in identifying and locating the employee(s) who can answer their questions or provide requested records, or request that the auditor return to a public space and wait on further assistance, while contacting the specified college employee.  

College employees should avoid calling security unless the auditor becomes unreasonably disruptive, physically threatening, or impedes the performance of college business. Profane, repetitive, or abusive language, without more, does not qualify as a sufficient disruption to remove the individual from public spaces. However, colleges should be mindful of their responsibility to protect staff from discriminatory harassment and ensure appropriate support is provided to any college employee who is subjected to profane, discriminatory, or abusive language by an auditor. 
 

Q: As an employee of Seattle Colleges, how should I respond if a “First Amendment auditor” approaches me?

If you find yourself in this situation, try to stay calm, avoid escalation, and provide support just like you would to anyone else.  

  • You can refer an “auditor” to your college's communications director. While they don’t process public records requests themselves, they serve as each college’s public information officer and can assist the individual.  
  • If your college communications director is not available, your next contact can be your college’s vice president of Administrative Services.
  • If neither is available during regular business hours, the next best option is sharing Seattle Colleges’ public records website (this webpage) and the contact information for our public records manager: 206.934.4436 or precords@seattlecolleges.edu.
  • You can choose to interact using the following basic script: "Thank you for your question. I can get you in contact with our communications director for in-person support to help you with your request. You can also contact our Public Records Manager at 206.934.4436 or precords@seattlecolleges.edu.”