FOIA Statement

Rights of Requesters and the Responsibilities of Paul D. Camp Community College (Camp) Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located § 2.2-3700 et. seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees. A public record is any writing or recording -- regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format -- that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies. The policy of FOIA states that the purpose of FOIA is to promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities. In furthering this policy, FOIA requires that the law be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly.

Your FOIA Rights

• You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of public records, or both.
• You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance.
• If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA.

How to Request Camp Records

• You may request records by U.S. Mail, fax, email, in person or over the phone. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing, nor do you need to specifically state that you are requesting records under FOIA.
• From a practical perspective, it may be helpful to both you and the person receiving your request to put your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request. It also gives us a clear statement of what records you are requesting, so that there is no misunderstanding over a verbal request. However, we cannot refuse to respond to your FOIA request if you elect to not put it in writing.
• Your request must identify the records you are seeking with "reasonable specificity." This is a common-sense standard. It does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records that you are requesting; instead, it requires that you be specific enough so that we can identify and locate the records that you are seeking.
• Your request must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of Camp, nor does it require Camp to create a record that does not exist.
• You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by Camp in the regular course of business. For example, if you are requesting records maintained in an Excel database, you may elect to receive those records electronically, via e-mail or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy of those records.
• If we have questions about your request, please cooperate with staff's efforts to clarify the type of records that you are seeking, or to attempt to reach a reasonable agreement about a response to a large request. Making a FOIA request is not an adversarial process, but we may need to discuss your request with you to ensure that we understand what records you are seeking.

FOIA Contact

To request records from Camp or to ask questions about requesting records, contact Human Resources at FOIA@pdc.edu. In addition, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is available to answer any questions you may have about FOIA. The Council may be contacted by email at foiacouncil@dls.virginia.gov or by phone at 804-698-1810, or toll free 866-448-4100. A link to an online public comment form can be found on the Advisory Council’s website on this page: foiacouncil.dls.virginia.gov/sample%20letters/welcome.htm

Camp's Responsibilities

Responding to Your Request Camp must respond to your request within five working days of receiving it. "Day One" is considered the day after your request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays. The reason behind your request for public records from Camp is irrelevant, and Camp cannot ask you why you want the records before we respond to your request. FOIA does, however, allow Camp to ask you to provide your name and legal address. FOIA requires that Camp make one of the following responses to your request within the five-day time period:

• Camp provides you with the records that you have requested in their entirety.
• Camp withholds all of the records that you have requested, because all of the records are subject to a specific statutory exemption. If all of the records are being withheld, Camp must send you a response in writing. That writing must identify the volume and subject matter of the records being withheld, and state the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows Camp to withhold the records.
• Camp provides some of the records that you have requested, but withholds other records. Camp cannot withhold an entire record if only a portion of it is subject to an exemption. In that instance, Camp may redact the portion of the record that may be withheld, and must provide you with the remainder of the record. Camp must provide you with a written response stating the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows portions of the requested records to be withheld.
• If it is practically impossible for Camp to respond to your request within the five-day period, Camp must state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This will allow seven additional working days to respond to your request, giving us a total of 12 working days to respond to your request.

If you make a request for a very large number of records, and Camp feels it cannot provide the records to you within 12 days without disrupting our other organizational responsibilities, Camp may petition the court for additional time to respond to your request. However, FOIA requires that Camp makes a reasonable effort to reach an agreement with you concerning the production or the records before Camp goes to court to ask for more time.

Cost

A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia. You may have to pay for the records that you request. FOIA allows Camp to charge for the actual costs of responding to FOIA requests. This would include items like staff time spent searching for the requested records, duplicating costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. It cannot include general overhead costs. If Camp estimates that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, Camp will require you to pay a deposit, not to exceed the amount of the estimate, before proceeding with your request. Camp will accept personal check, certified check, or money order made payable to Camp. The five days that Camp has to respond to your request does not include the time between when we ask for a deposit and when you respond. You may request that we estimate in advance the charges for supplying the records that you have requested. This will allow you to know about any costs upfront, or give you the opportunity to modify your request in an attempt to lower the estimated costs. If you owe Camp money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, Camp may require payment of the past-due bill before it will respond to your new FOIA request.

Types of Public Records Maintained by Camp

The public records Camp maintains include, but are not limited to, personnel records, scholastic records, contracts, and records related to academic programs.

Commonly Used Exemptions

All exemptions are identified in state code. Exemptions employed by Camp include, but are not limited to:

• Personnel records (Va. Code § 2.2‐3705.1 (1))
• Scholastic records (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.4(1)).
• Records subject to attorney‐client privilege (§ 2.2‐3705.1 (2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2‐ 3705.1 (3))
• Vendor proprietary information (§ 2.2‐3705.1 (6))
• Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (§ 2.2‐3705.0 (12))

Camp commonly invokes the personnel and scholastic record exemptions as allowed by law to protect the confidential information of employees and students.