Public Data Requests

Public Data Requests



In This Section Section Home Board Governance and Meeting Information Meeting Notices and Agenda Topics Agendas and Minutes Public Comment (Addressing the Board) Meeting Video Board Committees Elections Map of Districts Board Policies Public Data Requests	Public Data Requests Board of Education Directors > Public Data Requests Public Data Requests Minneapolis Public Schools are subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and MPS Board Policy 1040 and Regulation 1040A. This means all government data are public unless a state or federal law says the data are not public. It also means we must keep all government data in a way that makes it easy for you 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 get copies of public data. The Data Practices Act allows us to charge for copies. Before submitting a public data request, you may find what you are looking for at one of the following data sources: Tableau: MPS Public Data Dashboard MN Department of Education Report Card Student transcripts District reports and data Employee’s own personnel files Research and evaluation requests Budget spreadsheets Request Public Data Click here to submit a public data request Frequently Asked Questions What is government data? How do I make a data request? How will MPS respond to my public data request? Do I have to pay for the data? Can I make an anonymous request? What data about students is considered public? Who is responsible for government data practices in MPS? What is government data? According to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, "government data" means all data collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by any government entity regardless of its physical form, storage media or conditions of use. It also defines categories of data: Data not on individuals. "Data not on individuals" are all government data that are not data on individuals. Data on individuals. "Data on individuals" means all government data in which any individual is or can be identified as the subject of that data, unless the appearance of the name or other identifying data can be clearly demonstrated to be only incidental to the data and the data are not accessed by the name or other identifying data of any individual. Not public data. "Not public data" are any government data classified by statute, federal law, or temporary classification as confidential, private, nonpublic, or protected nonpublic. How do I make a data request? Please complete this form to make a data request to the Minneapolis Public Schools. How will MPS respond to my public data request? Upon receiving your request, we will review it. We may ask you to clarify what data you are requesting. If we do not have the data, we will notify you within 10 business days. If we have the data, but we are not allowed to give it to you, we will tell you as soon as reasonably possible and identify the law that prevents us from providing the data. If we have the data, and the data are public, we will respond to your request appropriately and promptly, within a reasonable amount of time by doing one of the following: Arrange a date, time, and place for you to inspect the data at our offices; or You may choose to pick up your copies, or we will mail or email them to you. We will provide electronic copies (such as email or CD-ROM) upon request, if we keep the data in that format and we can reasonably make a copy. Response time may be impacted by the size and/or complexity of your request, and also by the number of requests you make in a given period of time. 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. We are also not required to respond to questions that are not about your data requests, or requests for government data. Do I have to pay for the data? If you would like copies of the data, you will be charged for the copies. If we can provide the data to you electronically, there will be no charge. Please note that MPS is required to provide the data as we maintain it. We will not use staff time to modify or analyze data for the sole purpose of public data requests. Can I make an anonymous request? MPS cannot require anyone to identify themselves or explain the reason for their data request. If someone decides not to provide MPS with contact information, we will be unable to contact you with specific questions about your request. What data about students is considered public? According to MPS Board Policy 1040, the following information is considered public: Name, height, and weight of individual members of athletic teams Name of recipient and name of award or scholarship received Names of participants in officially recognized school activities Who is responsible for government data practices in MPS? To contact the responsible authority, email publicdatarequests@mpls.k12.mn.us.