Advancement · School Operations

Keep what you must.
Destroy the rest, properly.

Schools keep records for periods set by their state’s retention schedule, with federal floors underneath for grants, employment and special education, and legal holds that override everything. Add each records series with the period from your schedule. The planner checks it against the federal minimums, tracks the annual review and flags what must not be destroyed yet.

Add a records seriesWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the School operations toolkit, $49 for 32 items.

Your records series

The worked example is made up: special education files due for review, grant files kept too briefly, I-9 forms under a legal hold and permanent cumulative folders. Saved on this device only.

Loading the records series form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · School Operations$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per records series: category, office, format, years from your state schedule, the event that starts the clock, legal hold, destruction method, last review and five checks. Works out days to the next annual review and whether the period falls under a federal minimum; flags holds, short grant and employment periods, the IDEA notice, permanent records’ formats, overdue reviews and no destruction method.
Who it is for
School and district business managers, registrars, human resources and special education administrators, and records officers.
Format
Browser planner with a saved record per series. Prints one series, every series in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the School operations toolkit ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The School Operations space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Find your state’s records retention schedule for schools.
  2. Add each records series with the period it sets.
  3. Mark any series under a legal hold or open request.
  4. Fix anything below a federal minimum.
  5. Review each series yearly and log every destruction.

Add a records series

Federal floors

Federal floors under a state scheduleRecordsFederal minimumSourceFederal grant files3 years from the final report2 CFR 200.334Form I-93 years after hire or 1 after leaving8 CFR 274a.2Payroll3 years29 CFR 516Employment tax4 yearsIRS guidanceSpecial educationTell parents before destroying34 CFR 300.624Federal floors under a state scheduleFederal grant filesFederal minimum: 3 years from the final reportSource: 2 CFR 200.334Form I-9Federal minimum: 3 years after hire or 1 after leavingSource: 8 CFR 274a.2PayrollFederal minimum: 3 yearsSource: 29 CFR 516Employment taxFederal minimum: 4 yearsSource: IRS guidanceSpecial educationFederal minimum: Tell parents before destroyingSource: 34 CFR 300.624
Your state schedule sets most periods and is often longer; where both apply, keep the longer one.

FERPA and destruction

FERPA does not set retention periods, but a school may not destroy education records while a parent or eligible student has an outstanding request to inspect them. Treat that like a legal hold.

Special education

Under IDEA, a school must tell parents when personally identifiable information is no longer needed and destroy it at their request, but may keep a permanent record of the student’s name, address, phone number, grades, attendance, classes attended, grade level and year completed.

Sources

  1. 2 CFR 200.334, retention requirements for records of federal awards.
  2. 34 CFR 300.624 (IDEA destruction of information) and 34 CFR 99.10 (FERPA, no destruction while a request to inspect is pending).
  3. 8 CFR 274a.2 (Form I-9 retention); 29 CFR part 516 (Fair Labor Standards Act records); Internal Revenue Service, Employment tax recordkeeping (irs.gov).
  4. Council of State Archivists and state archives, records retention schedules for local governments and school districts.

The worked examples are made up. Your state schedule and counsel govern; this planner checks only the federal minimums named here. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.