I just found out I need a certain document within 48 hours and my copy cannot be found (I moved recently). There may be a copy in my employee file at my last school district so the question is, are they (in his case a school district but any business in general) obligated to give me copies of items in my employee file?
In general probably not. There may not even be any requirement to keep whatever document you’re talking about. But calling your old district is the only way to find out.
In MA they would be required to provide any documents you previously had access to in you personal file. So certificates or written disciplinary documents. They aren’t required to provide documents on you you had not previously received. Internal recommendations or management descriptions of incidents.
Whatever the law is; to extract documents from a school bureaucracy as quickly as you need them will take serious grovelling on your part. That will only work if you parted on good terms.
A good reason for not burning bridges etc.