Personnel Records and Files
CODE: GBJ
Maine School Administrative District No. 31
PERSONNEL RECORDS AND FILES
The school unit shall maintain records of current and former employees in the Office of the Superintendent in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations.
Directory Information
As required by law, a record of directory information for each employee shall be open to inspection and copying by any person.
Directory information shall contain:
A. Name of employee;
B. Date(s) of employment by the school unit;
C. Regular and extra-curricular duties, courses, subjects taught, and any other responsibilities since the start of employment
by the school unit;
D. Post-secondary education institution(s) attended;
E. Major and minor field(s) of study as required by those institutions; and
F. Degrees received and dates degrees were awarded.
Confidential Information
As required by law, all information (except Directory Information) about an employee, applicant for employment or an
employee/applicant's immediate family shall be kept confidential if it relates to the following:
A. All information, working papers, and examinations used in the evaluation or selection of applicants for employment;
B. Medical information of any kind, including information pertaining to diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional disorders;
C. Performance valuations, personal references and other reports and evaluations reflecting on the quality or adequacy of the
employee's work or general character compiled and maintained for employment purposes;
D. Credit information;
E. The personal history, general character or conduct of the employee or any member of the employee's immediate family;
F. Complaints, charges of misconduct, replies thereto and memoranda and other materials pertaining to disciplinary action;
G. Social Security number;
H. Any teacher action plan and support system documents and reports maintained for certification purposes; and
I. Criminal history record information.
Personnel Files
Personnel files will contain a cumulative history of the staff member's employment, including formal or informal employee work
evaluations and reports relating to the employee's character, credit, work habits, compensation, and benefits.
Other Confidential Personnel Records
The school unit must maintain the following confidential employee records separate from the personnel files;
A. Medical information of any kind; and
B. Teacher action plan and support system documents and reports maintained for certification purposes.
Disciplinary Action Information
Any written record of a decision involving an employee disciplinary action by the School Board shall not be included within any
category of confidential information.
Procedures for Review of Personnel Files
For the purpose of this section, a personnel file shall include, but not be limited to, any formal or informal employee evaluations
and reports relating to the employee's character, credit, work habits, compensation and benefits which the Superintendent has in
his/her possession.
A. The Superintendent shall, upon written request and within ten (10) business days, provide the employee, former employee,
or his/her duly authorized representative(s) with an opportunity to review and copy is/her personnel file, if the
Superintendent has a personnel file for that employee.
B. Reviews of personnel files shall take place at the location where the personnel files are maintained and during normal office
hours.
C. The cost of any copying is to be paid by the person requesting the copy.
D. Access to confidential college placement records and letters of reference will be granted only to the
Superintendent/designee.
Access to Personnel Files
Access to personnel files may be given to the following persons without the consent of the employee.
A. The Superintendent or his/her designee, the employee's principal or other supervisor(s). Personnel files are not
accessible to individual School Board members. Relevant portions of a personnel file may be summarized and/or shared
with the Board by the Superintendent when consideration is being given to performance valuation, continuation of
employment or disciplinary action.
B. The general public shall have access only to the Directory Information as outlined above.
Access to personnel files will not be granted to any other persons except under the following circumstances:
A. When the employee gives written consent for the release of his/her records. The written consent must specify the
record(s) to be released and to whom they are to be released. Each request for consent must be handled separately; blanket permission for release of information will not be accepted; and
B. Upon advice of counsel, when subpoenaed or under court order.
Records Management
The Superintendent has overall responsibility for maintaining and preserving the confidentiality of all employee/applicant
records. The Superintendent may designate a staff member who shall be responsible for granting or denying access to records
according to the guidelines in this policy.
Written reports shall be maintained in personnel files to document compliance with federal and state laws and regulations and
School Boards policies regarding employee evaluation. Once a document is properly placed in a personnel file, it shall remain in
the file permanently.
Records Retention
The School unit will retain all personnel records and files in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Legal Reference: 20-A MRSA § 6101
20-A MRSA § 13015
26 MRSA § 631
Chapter 10, Rules for Disposition of Local Government Records (Maine State Archives)
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. § 2611 et seq.
Cross Reference: GBJC - Retention of Application Materials
KDB - Public’s Right to Know/Freedom of Information
First Reading: 07/15/1998
Adoption: 08/19/1998
Reviewed: 11/18/2009