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Prepare for Disposition - Notices and Updates

Ready to review records and dispose of those that have met their retention requirements?  You've come to the right place!  Instructions are provided on the next page (there's a link below), and instructions are also provided on the disposition form itself.  An example of a completed form may help if you're new to the process.

Before you proceed to the disposition instructions link at the bottom of the page, take a look a the new laws that may affect your records. 

Recent News

March 2024 - recertification of the RRS in progress

The TXST and TSUS Records Retention Schedules submitted to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission Records Management Division for review and recertification.  Once the state recertifies them, the RRS database will be updated accordingly and the changes will be reflected in the online retention schedule.  

 

 

Older Announcements

 

88th Legislature Bill Tracking, Courtesy of TSLAC - Spring 2023

The State and Local Records Management (SLRM) division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is "tracking those bills with the potential to affect the retention and disposal of government records."  Check out the Texas Record blog if you want to view the list - it's available as a PDF.

 

 

SB 944 - effective September 1, 2019

University business conducted on personal devices is a public record.  Messages, e-mails, and other records of such business are to be treated as official university records.

The Hill Country News (article no longer online) provided a succinct description:

"SB 944 clarifies that government employees and elected officials do not own records created or received while acting in an official capacity.

The law now requires government employees and elected officials to provide copies of all communications created on their personal accounts or electronic devices to the governmental entity’s public records official for backup, and so that the public records official has access to the data when responding to open records requests." 

 

 

February 2019:  The newly-revised RRS has been certified by the State! 

You'll find new groups of records, new records series, revised series titles, some series that have been moved to better reflect the function they serve, and revised retention periods.  These changes evolved from the State's efforts to standardize records retention across all Texas colleges and universities. 

 

In addition, two recent laws have changed the retention of many records on this RRS. 

  • 19 TAC §22.4 (2018) lengthened the retention of most student-related records
  • Government Code, 441.1855  lengthened the retention of contract-related records for contracts executed, renewed, or amended on or after September 1, 2015

CAUTION: A state record may not be destroyed if any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review, or other action involving the record is initiated before the expiration of a retention period for the record.  Disposition may not begin until the completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it, or until the expiration of the retention period, whichever is later. 

Before you begin, there are three ground rules to remember:

  1. When in doubt, treat it as a record
    Not sure if you have a record or a convenience copy?  Treat it as a record. There are no penalties for disposing of copies according to the RRS.
  2. If the record fits into more than one record series, always defer to the longest retention period
    If there are external retention requirements that require a longer retention period than stated in our RRS, notify the records manager so the RRS can be updated.
  3. If a file has multiple records with a variety of retention periods, always default to the longest retention period
    In some cases, record series were created to accommodate files with multiple retention periods (for example, see PER550 - Departmental Personnel Records).