1. Each employee personnel file shall include records and documents collected and retained by the school concerning the employee including, but not limited to:

A. Evaluation reports;

B. Commendations of and complaints against the employee;

C. Written suggestions for corrections and improvements;

D. Certificates;

E. Standard test scores;

F. Academic records;

G. Other pertinent records or reports.

2. Any pre-employment data or other information obtained about an employee before his/her employment by the Board will be kept in a separate pre-employment file. This information shall not be made available to the employee except for documents which the employee has placed or completed for the file, and which do not include any additional information added subsequently by the district or references.

3. All evaluations, commendations, complaints or suggestions for correction or improvement about the employee's professional conduct placed in an employee's personnel file shall be signed and dated, and a written copy of the document shall be provided to the employee at least five (5) days before it is placed in the employee's personnel file. With regards to letters of complaint, the Superintendent or designee shall follow the guidelines of 115C-325(b) in determining which letter shall be placed in the employee's file.

Every employee is entitled to offer a denial or explanation of the evaluation, commendation, complaint or suggestion, and any such denial or explanation shall be signed and dated by the employee and made part of the employee's personnel file. Any such responses should be submitted to the Associate Superintendent responsible for personnel services within thirty (30) calendar days of the employee's receipt of the evaluation, commendation, complaint or suggestion.

4. Every employee may have access to his/her own personnel file, except certain pre-employment data, during working hours, provided reasonable notice is given to the Personnel Office. Employees may request a copy of documents found in the file. Such copy requests will be scheduled within the existing workload of personnel staff, but should be completed within five (5) business days of the request.

5. The following persons may be permitted to have access to a personnel file without the consent of the employee:

A. Those school officials involved in the employment and evaluation process of the individual, the school board attorney, and the Board of Education, if the examination of the file is due to their defined duties and responsibilities.

B. The Case Manager if the eligible teacher or administrator has requested the case manager process in a demotion or dismissal proceeding.

C. Any appropriate individual when the records have been subpoenaed or sought by court order.

6. No one other than those listed above may have access to a personnel file unless the employee gives written consent to the release of his/her records. The written consent must specify the records to be released and to whom they are to be released. Blanket permission for release of information shall be kept.

7. The Guilford County Board of Education classifies the following information about employees as directory information and as such reserves the right to make this information public as part of an employee directory or otherwise:

A. Name

B. Address

C. Telephone listing

D. Date of appointment

E. Photograph

F. Job title and location

G. Participation in officially recognized activities

H. Dates of employment

I. Any other personnel information deemed as subject to public disclosure by General Statutes of North Carolina

8. All information provided to the personnel office by an applicant for employment or an employee must be true, accurate and complete to the best of that applicant's or employee's knowledge and should be updated whenever any material changes occur. It is a violation of policy, and therefore, grounds for dismissal to fail to provide relevant information, or to present information to the personnel office which is intended to defraud or materially misrepresent or conceal the truth. Furthermore, the presentation of such information to the personnel office by an applicant for employment shall be considered just cause for termination of the application process.

9. An employee may petition the Board of Education to have removed from his/her personnel file any information that the employee deems invalid, irrelevant or outdated. The Board may order the Superintendent to remove said information if it finds the information is invalid, irrelevant, or outdated.

A. The petition shall be in writing, signed by the employee, and submitted to the Associate Superintendent responsible for personnel services, who will acknowledge its receipt.

B. The petition shall identify the specific information in question and the reasons for claiming it is invalid, irrelevant, or outdated.

C. The written petition and the information in question shall be submitted by the administration to the Board.

D. The Administration shall provide the Board with written background information and a recommendation.

E. If the employee in the written petition requests to address the Board, that request will be granted. The employee and administration will be allowed one representative each at such meeting to assist each in any presentation. Such representation may be an attorney. The Board will determine the time allotted each, based on the individual case before it.

F. The Board shall review the petition and the information in question and may make a decision including, but not limited to, the following:

a. deny the request for removal,

b. approve the request for removal and instruct the Superintendent to remove the information in question from the employee's personnel file,

c. agree with the petitioner's claim, but decide to leave the information in question in the employee's personnel file with a copy of the petition and the Board's findings included in the employee's personnel file,

d. request more information from the petitioner and/or the person, who submitted the information in question for placement in the petitioner's personnel file,

e. take such other appropriate action, as the Board may deem proper.

G. Any Board action will be communicated to the employee in writing and recorded in his/her district personnel file. In addition, the employee's initial basic petition for removal will also be placed in his/her file.

H. Once action is completed by the Board, no further hearing on the matter is contemplated; however, after one calendar year from the date of the decision, an employee may re-petition the Board following the process outlined above.

Legal Reference: G.S. 115C-36; - 47(18); - 319; -320; - 321; - 325.