Any Gwinnett parent can ask GCPS for emails, contracts and spending records, and Georgia law gives the district three business days to answer. That answer doesn't have to be the records, and your own child's file goes through a different door entirely.
Gwinnett County Public Schools takes Georgia Open Records Act requests through its Coordinator of Public Records Request, Alicia Trager, at OpenRecordsOfficer@gcpsk12.org or 678 301 6340, according to the district's Open Records Requests page. GCPS says it will respond "within three business days after it has been received by the Coordinator of Public Records Request." Records about your own child are different: GCPS sends those through a separate student records process, covered below.
The Georgia Open Records Act starts at Official Code of Georgia Annotated Section 50-18-70. Section 50-18-71(a)(1) says all public records are open for inspection and copying unless a court order or a law specifically exempts them. Everything here comes from the GCPS page, the statute and the Georgia Attorney General's office, checked October 29, 2026.
What does the 3 business day rule actually require?
Under O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-71, a Georgia agency must produce records responsive to a request "within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of receipt." That deadline doesn't always mean you'll have the records in hand by day three. The law, as published on Justia, gives three possible answers inside that window:
The records themselves, or access to inspect them.
Whatever records can be found in three days, if only some are ready.
If records exist but aren't ready, "a description of such records and a timeline for when the records will be available," followed by the records "as soon as practicable."
GCPS's page describes the third option in its own words: if production isn't possible in that time, the coordinator "will issue correspondence with an explanation."
If GCPS withholds any part of a record, the law requires it to cite the specific legal exemption "by Code section, subsection, and paragraph" within the same three business days. A vague "that's confidential" doesn't meet that standard. GCPS's page says the same: when a record is withheld, the district "will cite to the provision of Georgia law that exempts the record from being produced."
The clock starts when the coordinator receives your request. When an agency requires written requests to go to a designated open records officer, as GCPS does, Georgia law starts the three day count only once the request reaches that officer. A letter handed to your child's principal or an email to a board member may not start it.
How do I file an open records request with GCPS?
Send it in writing to the coordinator. GCPS lists four ways:
Mail: Alicia Trager, Coordinator of Public Records Request, Gwinnett County Public Schools, 437 Old Peachtree Road NW, Suwanee, GA 30024
Fax: 678 301 6007
Phone for questions: 678 301 6340, 8 AM to 5 PM
GCPS's page says requests "must be made in writing." State law is looser. It says a request "may be made to the custodian of a public record orally or in writing," and the Attorney General's office says the same. But the statute's enforcement sections apply only to written requests, and the Attorney General's office calls writing "a better practice." So put it in writing. Email gives you a timestamp.
A strong request names the records, not the question. The law doesn't require GCPS to create new reports, summaries or compilations that don't already exist. "How many fights happened at my child's school" may get you nothing. A request such as "incident reports filed at [school] from [start date] to [end date], with student names redacted" asks for records that may exist, though some student information can be withheld.
For emails or texts, the statute says a request "should contain information about the messages that is reasonably calculated to allow the recipient" to find them. Give the name, title or office of the person whose messages you want, a date range and a few search terms.
Ask for electronic copies when that's how the record is kept. Georgia law requires agencies to produce electronic records in the format they keep them, or in a standard export format if their systems support it.
How much does a GCPS open records request cost?
A small request may cost nothing, because state law bars any charge for the first quarter hour of search, retrieval or redaction. After that, an agency can charge no more than the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid full time employee with the skills to do the work. Paper copies can cost up to 10 cents a page for letter or legal size.
If the cost will top $25, GCPS must send you an estimate within three business days and can wait to start until you agree to pay. If the estimate is more than $500, the law lets the district demand payment up front.
GCPS adds a deadline of its own. "Once an estimate has been provided, the requestor will have ten (10) days to approve the estimate. Failure to do so within the specified time limit will result in the request being null and void," the district's page says. Section 50-18-71 lets an agency hold a request until you agree to pay, but it doesn't set a 10 day limit. GCPS's page doesn't say whether those are calendar or business days, so answer an estimate quickly or ask the coordinator to narrow the request.
How do I get my own child's school records?
Not through open records. "Requests for student records should not be submitted through the Open Records Request process," GCPS says on the same page, and it links to its separate Student Records and Transcripts Requests page. Student education records are confidential under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA.
For a current student, the district's student records procedure says a parent who wants to inspect and review records "should submit a written request to the Principal of the school in which the student is enrolled or last attended." The procedure sets a limit of 45 days. Parents can also review records before an IEP meeting, a due process hearing or a resolution session under the federal special education law, and can ask for electronic copies of records kept electronically.
Divorced or separated parents: the procedure says FERPA gives both custodial and noncustodial parents the right to inspect their child's records unless a court order specifically revokes it.
Former students, and families of K to 8 students requesting records, use GCPS's online portal, gwinnettschoolsga.scriborder.com. The Office of Student Records Archives says to allow at least two business days, requires a government issued photo ID, and requires a parent's or guardian's signature and ID for students under 18. Records stay at the last school a student attended for one full school year before moving to the archives. The archives office is at 678 301 6144.
If you think a student data privacy right was violated, GCPS says the Office of the Chief of Staff handles first level complaints under Georgia's Student Data Privacy, Accessibility, and Transparency Act, using the complaint form linked on the Open Records page.
Subpoenas, notices to produce and other litigation requests go to the GCPS legal office at LegalRequests@gcpsk12.org or 678 301 6303, not the open records coordinator.
What if GCPS misses the deadline or denies the request?
Start with the coordinator. The Attorney General's guide to open government, a 2019 edition that is still the one posted on the office's website, says informal follow ups on a request's status "may be helpful" and negotiating can lower the cost.
If that fails, the Attorney General's office runs an informal mediation program for disputes with local governments, with an online complaint form. Its lawyers don't represent you, the office's 2019 guide says, but they evaluate complaints and contact the agency to try to resolve them.
Any person can also sue to enforce the Act. Under O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-74, a court can impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first negligent violation and up to $2,500 for each additional violation within 12 months. Knowing and willful violations can be a misdemeanor.
Save the email you sent, the date the coordinator received it and every reply. If the third business day passes with no records, no timeline and no cited exemption, that paper trail is your case. Your first step is still an email to OpenRecordsOfficer@gcpsk12.org asking for the status.