The Ohio Electronic Records Committee (OhioERC) recently pushed out a new online training series for state and local governmental officials and employees. The training provides information and best practices on managing email as a public record and includes four training modules:

The training contains helpful tips to help users determine whether emails qualify as public records under the Ohio Public Records Act. The format of a record is irrelevant in determining whether a record meets the definition of a “public record.” It is the content of the record that matters. The training reminds users that they must look beyond the electronic medium and analyze the content to determine if the information is a record that the public may access. If an email is received by, created by, or comes under the jurisdiction of the district, and it documents the activities of the district, it may meet the definition of a public record.

OhioERC’s free interactive training series walks users through several practical examples and takes approximately one hour to complete. It is designed for use by state and local government officials and employees. A certificate of completion is provided at the end of the last training module.

OhioERC identifies best practices and develops resources concerning the creation, maintenance, long-term preservation and access to the electronic records of Ohio’s public entities. Their website also includes tip sheets, guidance documents and other resources. We frequently refer districts to their resources on the use of social media by governmental entities, which includes both a guidance document and an online training module.

OSBA also includes information about Ohio’s Public Records Act and its application to emails in its recently revised Sunshine Law for Schools publication, which is available online at the OSBA Bookstore.

Posted by Sara C. Clark on 4/22/2022

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