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KANSAS OPEN RECORDS ACT.
K.S.A. 45-215, et seq.
The Kansas Open Records Act grants you the right to inspect and obtain copies of public records created or maintained by public agencies in Kansas. The Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215, et seq., as amended, declares that it is the public policy of Kansas that “Public records shall be open for inspection by any person.”
Exceptions to the Open Records Act
The Kansas Open Records Act recognizes that certain records contain private or privileged information. The Act lists several exceptions, including:
Personnel records of public employees
Medical treatment records
Records protected by attorney/client privilege
Records closed by the rules of evidence
Records containing personal information compiled for census purposes
Notes and preliminary drafts
Criminal investigation records
Several other specific types of records
A complete list of exceptions can be found in K.S.A. 45-221
An agency is only required to provide public records that already exist. There is no requirement for the agency to create a record upon request.
Nothing in the Open Records Act supercedes federal law, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment).
If a record is only partially exempted from disclosure, the designated record custodian shall delete the exempted materials and make available the materials that are subject to disclosure. Records, which are exempt because they pertain to an identifiable individual, are subject to disclosure if deletion of the identifying portions of the records is possible.
Public records more than 70 years old are open for inspection without regard to the above-listed exemptions. Disclosure of such records is prohibited only if federal or state law so provides.
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