Huntsville City Schools is committed to compliance with the Alabama Open Records Act, Alabama Code § 36-12-40, et seq.

Before submitting a request, please be advised that many HCS Board of Education and district financial records are already publicly available or linked to here on the district website. These include Board of Education meeting agendas & minutes, Board of Education policies, financial documents such as monthly financial reports, monthly check register reports, annual accountability reports, audited financials, and budgets which are all available on the Finance Department page.

Additionally, please note that any request for student records, such as transcripts, should be made via the Student Records Department.

HCS does not have an obligation to respond to public records requests that are not made in accordance with the written procedures on this page.

Only an individual who is permanently domiciled in Alabama with an expectation to remain in Alabama, as demonstrated through an Alabama driver license or voter registration, may make an open records request.

1. Fill Out the Form: To request public records, complete the form below. Please make sure to fill out the entire form. Need help? Contact the HCS Communications Department for assistance.

2. HCS Will Acknowledge Your Request Within 10 Business Days: Once we receive your form, someone from HCS will contact you within 10 business days to confirm we received your request, ask any questions if we need more information, and provide a cost estimate based on the fee schedule below.

3. Review the Cost and Confirm: Upon receiving the cost estimate, if you wish to move forward, you will be asked to mail in a check for payment.

4. HCS Will Conduct A Search for Public Records: After we receive your payment, HCS will search for the requested public records and provide any responsive public records not otherwise protected from disclosure by law.

The type and volume of records requested will determine the time and cost required to process a public records request. There are two different types of requests under Alabama law.

• A Standard Request seeks one or more specifically and discretely identified public records, requiring no or minimal clarification, and takes less than eight hours of staff time to process considering the time needed to identify and retrieve any responsive records and any time needed to redact or take other measures to withhold protected information . The response time to a Standard Request is 15 business days, which may be extended upon written notice to the requestor.

• A Time-Intensive Request will take more than eight hours of staff time to process considering the time needed to identify and retrieve any responsive records and any time needed to redact or take other measures to withhold protected information . The response time to a Time-Intensive Request is 45 business days, which may be extended upon written notice to the requestor.

For questions or assistance with the open records request process, please contact the HCS Communications Department at 256-428-7860. If you experience any accessibility issues with attempting to submit this form, please submit a Website Feedback form or contact the HCS Communications Department for alternate ways of submitting your request.