When government has information recorded in any form (paper, harddrive, voicemail, video, email, etc.), that information is called “government data” under the Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13). When we can identify you in government data, you are the “data subject” of that data. The Data Practices Act gives you , as a data subject, certain rights. This policy explains your rights as a data subject, and tells you how to request data about you, your minor child, or someone for whom you are the legal guardian.
As a data subject, you have the following rights.
Option 1: To make a data request to the Minneapolis Public Schools, you should complete this form and check the “This data is about me” option. You must specifically state what data you wish to request about yourself. You may ask to look at (inspect) data at our offices, or ask for copies of data that we maintain about you, your minor child, or an individual for whom you have been appointed legal guardian.
Option 2: Alternatively, if you choose to not use the District’s data request form, your request must be submitted in writing to the District’s Data Practices Compliance Official at publicdatarequests@mpls.k12.mn.us or by mail. Your written request should:
Upon receiving your request, we will review it.
We may ask you to clarify what data you are requesting. We will ask you to confirm your identity as the data subject.
If we have the data, but the data are confidential or not public data about someone else, we will notify you within 10 business days and identify the law that prevents us from providing 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:
After we have provided you with your requested data, we do not have to show you the same data again for 6 months unless there is a dispute about the data or we collect or create new data about you.
If you do not understand some of the data (technical terminology, abbreviations, or acronyms), please tell the person who provided the data to you. 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, or to provide data in a specific form or arrangement if we do not keep the data in that 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 to respond to questions that are not about your data requests, or that are not requests for government data.
Minnesota Statutes, section 13.04, subdivision 3 allows us to charge for copies.
Actual Cost of Making the Copies We will charge the actual cost of making copies for data about you. In determining the actual cost, we include the employee-time to create and send the copies, the cost of the materials onto which we are copying the data (paper, CD, DVD, etc.), and mailing costs such as postage (if any).
The following constitute proof of identity:
An adult individual must provide a valid photo ID, such as:
A minor individual must provide a valid photo ID, such as:
MPS Responsible Authority
MPS Data Practices Compliance Official
Ryan Strack Administrator, Board and Government Relations ryan.strack@mpls.k12.mn.us
Kate Bechtle Director, Data Practices and Records Management Compliance publicdatarequests@mpls.k12.mn.us
Email for Written Data Requests: publicdatarequests@mpls.k12.mn.us
Mailing Address for Written Data Requests: Minneapolis Public Schools Attn: Board Office / Data Practices Compliance Official 1250 West Broadway Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55411
(Last Reviewed 3/22/2022)