Data Practices Procedure for the Public 

For persons who are NOT the subject of the data being requested. 

Policy and procedures required by Minnesota Statutes, sections 13.025 and 13.03. 

Right to Access Public Data 

Chapter 13 of Minnesota Statutes (Minnesota Government Data Practices Act) presumes that all government data are public unless a state or federal law says that the data are not public. Government data is a term that means all recorded information a government entity has, including paper, email, CD-ROMS, photographs, etc. 

The Data Practices Act provides that Anoka-Hennepin School District must keep all government data in a way that makes it easy for you, as a member of the public, to access public data. You have the right to look at (inspect), free of charge, all public data that we keep. You also have the right to obtain copies of public data. The Data Practices Act allows us to charge for copies. You have the right to inspect data, free of charge, before deciding to request copies. 

Responses to requests for public data must be supplied as soon as reasonably possible. 

If Anoka-Hennepin School District does not have the data you are asking for, or if the data are not public, we will let you know as soon as reasonably possible and if we will be processing the data on a rolling basis. If the data are not public, we will tell you which specific law makes the information not public. 

The law does not require that we create or collect new data for you in order to respond to your request or to provide data in a specific form or arrangement if we do not keep the data in that form or arrangement. In addition, the law does not require us to answer questions that are not requests for data. 

If you do not understand some of the data (technical terminology, abbreviations, or acronyms), please let us know.  We will give you an explanation if you ask. 

Copy Costs – Members of the Public 

Anoka-Hennepin School District may charge members of the public for copies of government data. These charges are authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subd. 3(c). 

100 or fewer pages of black and white, letter or legal-size paper copies may cost 25 cents for a one-sided copy, or 50 cents for a two-sided copy. 

The charge for most other types of copies is the actual cost of searching for and retrieving the data and making the copies or electronically transmitting the data (e.g. sending the data by e-mail). 

In determining the actual cost of making copies, we factor in employee time, the cost of the materials onto which we are copying the data (paper, CD, DVD, etc.) and mailing costs (if any). If your request is for copies of data that we cannot reproduce ourselves, such as photographs, we will charge you the actual cost we must pay an outside vendor for the copies.

Fees cannot be charged for separating public data from private, confidential, nonpublic, or protected nonpublic data. 

Anoka-Hennepin School District will waive charges if the cost to provide the data is less than the cost to process the payment. We will request that you pay any costs prior to receiving the data you have requested. 

How to Make a Data Request 

To inspect public data or request copies of public data that Anoka-Hennepin School District maintains, submit your request online using the Data Request Form. If you have accessibility concerns, email data.requests@ahschools.us.

Anoka-Hennepin School District cannot require you, as a member of the public, to identify yourself or explain the reason for your data request. However, depending on how you want us to process your request (if, for example, you want us to mail you copies of data), we may need some information about you. Please keep in mind that if we do not understand your request and have no way to contact you, we will not be able to process your request. 

Response to Data Requests 

If the data you have requested is public, Anoka-Hennepin School District will respond to your request appropriately and promptly within a reasonable amount of time by doing one of the following: 

If your request is to look at the data, when the data is available for viewing, we will contact you to arrange a date, time, and place to inspect the data. 

If your request is for copies of data, you will need to let us know if you wish to pick up the copies, or if you want us  to mail them to you. If you want us to send you the copies, you will need to provide us with an address. We will provide electronic copies (such as email, links to documents from a secure server, or CD-ROM) upon request if we keep the data in electronic format. We will also arrange for you to pre-pay for the copies. 

Requests for Summary Data 

Summary data are statistical records or reports that are prepared by removing all identifiers from private or confidential data on individuals. We will prepare summary data for you if you make a request utilizing the Data Request Form, pay us the cost of preparing the data. We may require prepayment of this cost. When we receive your request, we will respond within 10 business days to make detailed arrangements to prepare the summary data and provide a cost estimate. If you have accessibility concerns, email data.requests@ahschools.us.

Submit a data request online

We will respond to your request as soon as reasonably possible. All information you provide is public and subject to the Minnesota Data Practice Act. 

*You do not have to provide any contact information. However, if you want us to mail/email you copies of data, we will need contact information. We will also need contact information if we do not understand your request. We will not work on your request until we can clarify it with you.

Data Practices Contacts for Anoka-Hennepin School District 

Data Practices Compliance Official and Responsible Authority 
Tim Palmatier
763-506-1089

Requests for Data About an Individual Data Subject 

For persons who ARE the subject of the data being requested. 

Data About You  

The Data Practices Act (Minnesota Chapter 13) says that data subjects have certain rights related to a government entity collecting, creating, and keeping government data about them. You are the subject of data when you can be identified from the data. Government data is a term that means all recorded information a government entity has, including paper, email, CD-ROMs, photographs, et cetera. 

Classification of Data About Data Subjects 

The Data Practices Act presumes that all government data are public unless a state or federal law says that the data are not public. Data about you are classified by state law as public, private, or confidential. See below for examples. 

Public Data  
We must give public data to anyone who asks; it does not matter who is asking for the data or why. 

Private Data 
Anoka-Hennepin School District cannot give private data to the general public, but you have access when the data are about you. We can share your private data with you, with someone who has your permission, and with Anoka-Hennepin School District staff who need the data to do their work, and as permitted by law or court order. 

Confidential Data 
Confidential data have the most protection. Neither the public nor you can get access even when the confidential data is about you. We can share confidential data about you with Anoka-Hennepin School District staff who need the data to do their work and others as permitted by law or court order. We cannot give you access to confidential data. 

Individual Data Subjects under the Data Practices Act 

Anoka-Hennepin School District must keep all government data in a way that makes it easy for you to access data about you. Also, we can collect and keep only those data about you that we need for administering and managing programs that are permitted by law. As the data subject, you have the following rights. 

Access to Data 

Individual Data Subjects have the right to look at (inspect), free of charge, public and private data that we keep about you. You also have the right to get copies of public and private data about you. The Data Practices Act allows Anoka-Hennepin School District to charge for copies. You have the right to look at data, free of charge, before deciding to request copies. 

Also, if you ask, we will tell you whether we keep data about you and whether or not the data are public, private, or confidential. 

Detailed information about accessing student data is contained in Anoka-Hennepin School District Policy 515.1 and 515.2: Student Records and Protection and Privacy of Student Records.

A parent or legally appointed guardian has the right to look at and obtain copies of public and private data about the parent’s minor children (under the age of 18). 

A parent has the right to look at and obtain copies of public and private data about the parent’s adult children under certain circumstances authorized by law. 

A legally appointed guardian has the right to look at and obtain copies of public and private data about an individual for whom they are the appointed guardian. 

When Anoka-Hennepin School District Collects Data from You 

When we ask you to provide data about yourself that are not public, we must give you a notice. The notice is called a Tennessen warning. The notice controls what we do with the data that we collect from you. Usually, we can use and release the data only in the ways described in the notice and authorized by law. 

We will ask for your written permission if we need to use or release private data about you in a different way, or if you ask us to release data to another person. This permission is called informed consent. If you want us to release data to another person, you may use the consent form we provide in Policy 406.0F for employees. Refer to policies 515.1 and 515.2 for students.

Protecting your Data  

The Data Practices Act requires Anoka-Hennepin School District to protect your data

We have established appropriate safeguards to ensure that your data are safe. In the unfortunate event that we determine a security breach has occurred and an unauthorized person has gained access to your data, we will notify you as required by law. 

When your Data are Inaccurate and/or Incomplete  

You have the right to challenge the accuracy and/or completeness of public and private data about you. You also have the right to appeal our decision. A parent or guardian has the right to challenge data about their minor child.  

Challenges about the accuracy or completeness of data subject must be submitted to the Superintendent in writing.  

How to Request Your Data 

This document will guide you in making a data practices request for private and public data to Anoka-Hennepin School District as the data subject under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13. 

Student Data 

Requests for student data must comply with Anoka-Hennepin School District policy 515.2: Protection and Privacy of Student Records. Parent or Eligible Student Request to Inspect Records and/or Obtain Copies of Educational Records, must be completed. 

Anoka-Hennepin School District requires proof of the requestor’s identity before the District responds to a request for data of this nature. If the requestor is requesting data about their child, the requestor must show proof that the person is the parent. If the requestor is a guardian, the requestor must show legal documentation of the guardianship.

To inspect data or request copies of data that Anoka-Hennepin School District keeps about you, your minor children, or an individual for whom you have been appointed legal guardian, make a request using the Data Request Form. If you have accessibility concerns, email data.requests@ahschools.us. 

How Anoka-Hennepin School District Responds to a Data Request  

Once you make your written request, we will work to process your request. If it is not clear what data you are requesting, we will ask you for clarification. 

• If we have the data, but the data are confidential or private data that are not about you, we will notify you in writing within 10 business days and state which specific law says you cannot access the data.
• If we have the data, and the data are public or private data about you, we will respond to your request within 10 business days, by doing one of the following:
  • Arrange a date, time, and place to inspect data, for free, if your request is to look at the data
  • Provide you with copies of the data within 10 business days. You may choose to pick up your copies, or we will mail them to you. We will provide electronic copies (such as email, or CD-ROM) upon request if we keep the data in electronic format. We will also arrange for you to prepay for the copies.
  • Anoka-Hennepin School District may charge data subjects for copies of government data. These charges are authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.04, subd. 3.  
  • 100 or fewer pages of black and white, letter or legal-sized paper copies may cost 25 cents for a one-sided copy, or 50 cents for a two-sided copy. The charge for most other types of copies is the actual cost of making and certifying the copies or electronically transmitting the data (e.g. sending the data by e-mail).  In determining the actual costs of making copies, we factor in employee time, the cost of the material onto which we are copying the data (paper, CD, DVD, etc.) and mailing costs (if any). If your request is for copies of data that we cannot reproduce ourselves, such as photographs, we will charge you the actual cost we must pay an outside vendor for copies.
  • Fees cannot be charged for separating public data from private, confidential, nonpublic, or protected nonpublic data.
  • Anoka-Hennepin Schools will waive charges if the cost to provide the data is less than the cost to process the payment. 

After we have provided you with access to data about you, we do not have to show you the data again for 6  months unless there is a dispute or we collect or create new data about you. 

If you do not understand some of the data (technical, abbreviations, or acronyms), please let us know. We will give you an explanation if you ask. 

The Data Practices Act does not require us to create or collect new data in response to a data request if we do not already have the data, or to provide data in a specific form or arrangement if we do not keep the data in the form or arrangement. (For example, if the data you request are on paper only, we are not required to create electronic documents to respond to your request.) If we agree to create data in response to your request, we will work with you on the details of your request, including cost and response time.

In addition, we are not required under the Data Practice Act to respond to questions that are not requests for data. 

The superintendent has designated specific staff members to assist citizens who request data. For data contact the following:

Data Practices Compliance Official and Responsible Authority
Tim Palmatier
763-506-1089 

Designee for General Education Student Data: 
Michelle VanDenTop, Director of Technology and Information Services, 763-506-1026 

Designees for Special Education Student Data: 
Melissa Hayes, Director of Elementary Special Education, 763-506-1359
Stacey Dahlby, Director of Secondary Special Education, 763-506-1353 

Designee for Personnel Data: 
Shelly Leciejewski, Manager of Employee Services, 763-506-1109 

Designee for Labor Relations Data: 
Todd Mensink, Director of Labor Relations & Benefits, 763-506-1142