texas government code, chapter 552, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer's agent may not ask why you want them. all government information is presumed to be available to the public. certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of the information. governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception to disclosure has not been sought. for more information about the texas public information act or rights of requestors, you may wish to refer to the attorney general's public information handbook.
covid-19 impact: pursuant to the executive order issued by the governor of texas on march 19, 2020, schools are required to temporarily close in response to the mitigation of covid-19.
to keep our staff and students safe during this time, the austin community college district (“college”) has closed its physical offices and will only allow a skeleton crew involved with the college’s response to covid-19 to remain onsite, in addition to other employees working remotely. conditions may change and updates will be provided on the college’s website.
the college was closed for spring break from march 16 through march 20, 2020. beginning march 23, 2020, and until further notice, the college’s campuses and offices will be closed and will cease normal operations with the exception of a skeleton crew and online learning continuing for students.
public information act (“pia”) requests involve the calculation of business days in relation to the college’s deadline to respond to requests. the days that the college will be closed during this time do not constitute business days for purposes of the pia.
once the college re-opens and resumes its regular operations, all pending requests will be processed in accordance with the pia.
for further information on the calculation of deadlines under the pia, please visit the website of the texas attorney general.
rights of requestors you have the right to:
responsibilities of governmental bodies all governmental bodies responding to information requests have the responsibility to:
austin community college is considered a "governmental body" and is subject to the texas public information act. the act provides the public the right to access the college's open records.
the open records section of the office of the attorney general (oag) discharges the mandates set out in government code, chapter 552, subchapter a, section 552.009; subchapter d, section 552.205; and subchapter f, sections 552.261 through 552.274. in general, if the number of copies in your request is less than 50 pages, the charge will be $0.10 per page; if the number of copies is more than 50 pages, the charge will be $0.10 per page plus personnel costs necessary to compile the documents, in addition to the postage.
in some instances requesting access to information may also result in a charge.
if the charge for fulfilling your requests exceeds $40.00, we will provide you with an itemized written estimate of the charges and indicate if a less costly alternative is available. you must respond in writing within 10 days after the estimate is sent that you will accept the costs, or that you desire any stated alternative, or your request will be considered withdrawn.
if the estimated charge is more than $100.00, the college may ask for a prepaid deposit before providing the information.
you may ask the college to determine whether providing the information primarily benefits the general public, resulting in a waiver or reduction of charges.
all requests must be written and should be emailed or mailed to:
dahlia anzaldua-torres
Communications & marketing
austin community college
5930 middle fiskville rd.
austin, texas 78752
512 (223.7595)
anzaldua@austincc.edu
including the following information in your written request will help ensure you receive the information you want:
office of the attorney general - how to request public information
some of the information maintained by austin community college may not be considered public, such as the following:
upon hire, employees have the opportunity to designate some information as confidential and it will not be released to the public including an employee’s home
address home telephone number, emergency contact information, or social security number, or information that reveals whether the person has family members.
if you want to review or get copies of the non-public information listed above, it will be necessary for the college to request an attorney general's opinion about this information. the attorney general's office has about 12 weeks to make a decision on whether the information is public or not public.
orr process: