Unless otherwise exempt, a public record is a record kept by a public office, including but not limited to: state, county, city, village, township and school district units, and records pertaining to the delivery of educational services by an alternative school in Ohio kept by a non-profit or for-profit entity.
A “record” is any item that:
- contains information stored on a fixed medium (such as paper, computer, film, etc.)
- is created, received or sent under the jurisdiction of a public office; and
- documents the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities of the office
The determination of whether a specific item constitutes a record will depend on the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular item requested. The Ohio Supreme Court has imposed an actual use standard in defining a record. The court expressly rejected the notion that an item is a record simply because the public office could use a document it has received to carry out its duties and responsibilities. Similarly, allegedly racist e-mails circulated between public employees are not records when they were not used to conduct the business of the public office.