The public records request is the one legal document that leaves the building without a lawyer’s eyes on it. This course trains the people who send it. Twelve modules, about eight hours, taken at your own pace, covering the full request lifecycle, every exemption public safety uses, fees, appeals, and body-worn camera footage.
WHAT THIS COURSE TRAINS:
The Skill that Decides the Appeal
Most departments do not lose on the law. They lose on how they wrote it.
The Supervisor of Public Records reads the response word for word. A defensible answer names the specific record, the specific authority, and the specific harm, then releases the rest. This course trains that skill and measures it against a five-check Specificity Scorecard, on real requests, until it is second nature.
WHAT YOU’LL BE ABLE TO DO:
✦ Receive a request, run a good-faith search, and respond on time
✦ Apply the right exemption for the right reason, across (a), (c), (f),
(n), and the rest
✦ Write a justification that passes the five-check Specificity Scorecard
✦ Handle body-worn camera footage, fees, extensions, and appeals
WHAT’S INSIDE:
— Foundations. The request lifecycle, the RAO role, intake, and
responding.
— Fees and appeals. Extensions, the cost of production, and the
appeal to the Supervisor.
— Every exemption public safety uses, one at a time, with real
records.
— Records management and AI, plus a cumulative final that earns
the certificate.