# Title 15.1 — Elementary and Secondary Education

## Chapter 15.1-17 — Teacher Personnel Files

### § 15.1-17-01. Personnel file - Review by teacher.

A teacher employed by a school district or a state-supported institution that provides
elementary and secondary education to its students may review documents generated and
placed in the teacher's personnel file after the teacher was employed for the position. Upon
receiving a written request, the school principal, administrator, or school district superintendent
shall provide to a teacher a copy of any document in the teacher's personnel file. The teacher
shall pay any copying costs.
### § 15.1-17-02. Personnel file - Teacher's response.

A teacher employed by a school district may provide the school district superintendent with
a written response to any document in the teacher's personnel file. A teacher employed by a
state institution that provides elementary and secondary education to its students may provide
the institution's administrator with a written response to any document in the teacher's personnel
file. A school district superintendent or an administrator receiving a written response under this
section shall attach the response to the appropriate document and return both to the teacher's
personnel file.
### § 15.1-17-03. Personnel file - Objection to documents.

If a teacher believes that any document in the teacher's personnel file, other than a formal
performance evaluation, is inappropriate or inaccurate, the teacher may request that the file be
reviewed by the principal of the school or by the administrator if the school is a state institution
that provides elementary and secondary education to its students. If a teacher employed by a
school district is dissatisfied with the outcome of the initial review, the teacher is entitled to have
the file reviewed, upon written request, by the school district superintendent. If a teacher
employed by a school district is dissatisfied with the outcome of the superintendent's review, the
teacher is entitled to have the file reviewed, upon written request, by the school board.
### § 15.1-17-04. Complaint against teacher - Notification.

If a complaint is filed against a teacher or against an individual for whom the teacher is
administratively responsible, and the complaint is to be placed in the teacher's personnel file,
the school principal, administrator, or school district superintendent shall inform the teacher of
the complaint.
### § 15.1-17-05. No secret files maintained - Penalty.

It is a class B misdemeanor for any individual employed by a school district or a
state-supported institution that provides elementary and secondary education to its students to
maintain documents about a teacher unless the teacher has access to the documents, as
provided in this chapter.
