Alterations to Scheduled Times
In the realm of government record-keeping, updating Records Disposition Schedules is a crucial task to ensure the accurate management and lawful disposition of records. Here's a breakdown of the guidelines that agencies follow:
Reasons for Updates
Updates to Records Disposition Schedules are made to reflect changes such as new legal or regulatory requirements, shifts in agency programs or operations, technological advances affecting records formats, or the incorporation of new types of records created by the agency. These updates help ensure schedules remain compliant and relevant.
New and Revised Schedule Items
When new types of records are identified, agencies draft new schedule items specifying retention periods and disposition instructions. Existing schedule items may be revised to adjust retention periods, add clarifications, or reflect updated legal obligations. These new and revised items are subject to review and approval by an archives authority or records management office, often the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for federal agencies or a designated state/local archives authority for others.
Discontinued Series or Systems
Records series or systems that are no longer active or relevant may be officially discontinued in schedules. This can be due to changes in agency functions, the obsolescence of recordkeeping systems, or consolidation of records management practices. Discontinued series are typically documented to clarify disposition of any remaining records and to maintain historical accountability.
The Role of NARA
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) issues General Records Schedules (GRS) for common records and also approves agency-specific schedules for mission-related records. Agencies must justify any deviation from GRS by creating or updating their own schedules, which then undergo NARA review.
Regular Reviews and Updates
Agencies conduct records inventories and periodically review schedules to update or add categories reflecting current operations and regulatory needs. The updates are to ensure proper preservation and disposition across all media types and to comply with laws, fiscal, operational, or regulatory requirements.
Specific Examples
Some agencies, like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) or state agencies, maintain records bucket schedules that organize current records series with defined retention periods. Updates entail adding new records series (e.g., new program areas), revising retention periods based on legal changes, or discontinuing obsolete record series.
Nonrecord Materials
The schedule should contain disposition instructions for nonrecord materials. Mixing nonrecord materials with the office's records and letting them proliferate in expensive office space should be avoided.
Changes and Revisions
Schedule items may need revision due to lack of clarity, inadequate retention periods for non-GRS items, or new or revised GRS items. Changes to approved schedules are subject to more detailed information in the resource: FAQs About Changes to Previously Approved Schedule Items.
Timely Action
The schedule items should remain in effect until all applicable records are disposed of or transferred to the National Archives. Agencies are required to review their Requests for Records Disposition Authority (Records Schedules) annually and update them within 6 months of receiving a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) transmittal of new or revised General Records Schedule (GRS).
Transfer of Functions
When a function is transferred by statute, Executive order, or treaty to another agency, the creating agency should destroy all temporary records whose retention periods have expired before transferring the remaining records.
Transfer of Records
The agency should review its instructions for transferring records to agency storage areas, records centers, and the National Archives to ensure compliance with agency needs and NARA regulations. Instructions for cutting off, or breaking, records in the schedule may need revision. The schedule and related directives should be amended to require the prompt and systematic transfer of eligible records to such storage facilities.
New Programs
Agencies must schedule the records of a new program within 1 year of its implementation. After termination of an agency program, the agency should destroy all temporary records whose retention periods have expired and retire the remainder to a records center unless all the records can be proposed for immediate destruction.
These guidelines ensure that records disposition schedules remain current, accurate, and compliant, providing a solid foundation for effective records management within government agencies.
- In the context of government agencies, updates to Records Disposition Schedules might be necessitated due to new legal requirements or shifts in business operations, with the goal of maintaining schedules that remain compliant and relevant within the business sphere.
- When new programs are launched within an agency, the records of those programs should be scheduled within one year, and any temporary records whose retention periods have expired should be destroyed once the program terminates, thereby adhering to the regulations within the realm of finance and business.
