Is a video recording of a Florida school board meeting a public record?

Subject

Public Records

Plain-English summary

The Superintendent of the Calhoun County School District asked the Attorney General whether a video recording made during a school board meeting was a public record. The office (responding through Senior Assistant Attorney General Gerry Hammond) gave informal comments rather than a formal opinion.

The starting point is Chapter 119, the Public Records Law. Section 119.011(12) defines "public records" broadly to cover sound recordings, films, and "other material, regardless of the physical form," made or received in connection with official business by an agency. A school board is plainly an agency, and minutes of a board meeting are public records. The harder question, since the recording was not the official minutes, was whether the video itself counted.

The AG drew on a 2004 opinion (04-15) and the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Shevin v. Byron, Harless. That case separated true public records, things meant to communicate, perpetuate, or formalize information, from mere "precursors" like draft notes not meant to be final. A recording made independently to capture the proceedings is a public record; dictation-style notes are not. Here, the video was made at a board member's direction and appeared intended to perpetuate the discussion, and the office had not been told that any other record of the meeting (such as the minutes section 286.011 requires) was prepared. On those facts the video looked like a public record.

The AG added two cautions. First, if the recording was of a quasi-judicial proceeding, that label does not remove the board from the Sunshine Law (citing Canney). Second, whether any actual violation of the Public Records Law or Sunshine Law occurred is for the State Attorney to decide; the AG's office is not a fact finder and cannot investigate or prosecute.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Are recordings of government meetings public records in Florida?
The Public Records Law defines public records broadly, including sound recordings and films, regardless of physical form, made or received in connection with official business. The AG concluded a video made to perpetuate a school board meeting's discussion appears to qualify, especially where no other record of the meeting was prepared.

Does it matter who made the recording or why?
Yes. Drawing on Shevin v. Byron, Harless and opinion 04-15, the AG distinguished records intended to communicate, perpetuate, or formalize information (public records) from mere precursors like personal draft notes (not public records). A recording made independently to capture the proceedings falls on the public-record side of that line.

Is a board exempt from the Sunshine Law when it acts like a court?
No. The AG noted the Florida Supreme Court has held there is no exception to the Sunshine Law for closed-door hearings or deliberations when a board acts in a quasi-judicial capacity.

Who decides if the law was actually broken?
The State Attorney in the judicial circuit where the complaint is filed. The AG's office said it is not a fact finder and has no authority to investigate or prosecute a violation.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 119, the Public Records Law, makes records of an "agency" available for inspection and copying. Section 119.011(12) defines "public records" to include documents, recordings, films, and other material regardless of form, made or received in connection with official business; section 119.011(2) defines "agency" to include any board or other unit of government and entities acting on its behalf. A school board falls within that definition, and section 286.011 (the Sunshine Law) requires minutes of board meetings, which are public records.

The AG's analysis of whether the video specifically qualified rested on Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Associates, Inc., where the Florida Supreme Court distinguished finished public records from precursor materials. The opinion applied that test the way opinion 04-15 had: a recording made as an independent record of proceedings, intended to perpetuate the discussion, is a public record. On the quasi-judicial point, the AG cited Canney v. Board of Public Instruction of Alachua County and related authority holding that a quasi-judicial label does not lift a board out of section 286.011.

Citations

• Chapter 119, Florida Statutes; sections 119.011(12) and 119.011(2)
• Section 286.011, Florida Statutes
• Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Associates, Inc., 379 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 1980)
• Canney v. Board of Public Instruction of Alachua County, 278 So. 2d 260 (Fla. 1973)
• Occidental Chemical Company v. Mayo, 351 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 1977); Citizens v. Beard, 613 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 1992)
• Palm Beach County Classroom Teacher's Association v. School Board of Palm Beach County, 411 So. 2d 1375 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
• Attorney General Opinions 04-15, 86-21, 86-93, and 10-04

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/public-records
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1549

Original opinion text

Mr. Ralph Yoder

Superintendent, Calhoun County

School District

20859 Central Avenue East, RM-G20

Blountstown, Florida 32424

Dear Mr. Yoder:

As Superintendent of the Calhoun County School District, you have requested this office's assistance regarding the characterization of a video recording made during a meeting of the school board as a public record. Attorney General Bondi has asked me to respond to your letter and I provide the following informal comments in an effort to assist you.

Section 119.011(12), Florida Statutes, provides a definition of "[p]ublic records" for purposes of the Florida Public Records Law, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes:

"'Public records' means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency."

An "[a]gency" for purposes of the Public Records Law is defined to be

"any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law including, for the purposes of this chapter, the Commission on Ethics, the Public Service Commission, and the Office of Public Counsel, and any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency."[1]

There is no question that the school board is an "agency" for purposes of Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or that minutes taken of the meeting of the board pursuant to section 286.011, Florida Statutes, are public records which must be made available by the school board for public inspection and copying.[2]

While this office has received conflicting information regarding the purpose and character of the meeting held and the facts surrounding the recording of the meeting, a 2004 Attorney General's Opinion appears to provide some guidance in this situation. In Attorney General Opinion 04-15, the issue considered was whether a tape recording of a staff meeting was a public record in light of Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Associates, Inc.[3] In that case, the Florida Supreme Court contrasted public records which it considered to be records intended to communicate, perpetuate, or formalize information with materials prepared as drafts or notes, which it characterized as "precursors" of governmental records not intended to be final evidence of the knowledge recorded. This office concluded that tape recordings were public records since they were made at the request of the executive director as an independent record of the proceedings and, unlike tapes or notes taken by a secretary as dictation, were intended to perpetuate the discussion at a staff meeting.

From material communicated to this office, it appears that the video recording involved in your request was made of a school board meeting and at the direction of a school board member. While this office has not been advised of the uses to which this record may have been intended to be put, it appears to be a record intended to perpetuate the discussion at the meeting. In addition, you have not advised this office that any other record of the meeting was prepared as is required by section 286.011, Florida Statutes.

Finally, information submitted to this office suggests that the video recording may be of a quasi-judicial proceeding or hearing held by the school board. I note that the Florida Supreme Court has stated that there is no exception to the Sunshine Law which would allow closed-door hearings or deliberations when a board or commission is acting in a "quasi-judicial" capacity.[4] Thus, "[t]he fact that a board or commission is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity does not remove it from the [reach] of section 286.011, Florida Statutes."[5]

Any determination of a violation of the Government in the Sunshine Law or the Public Records Law is the province of the State Attorney in the judicial circuit in which the complaint is filed. This office is not a fact finder and has no authority to investigate whether a violation of the law has occurred or prosecute such a violation.

I trust that these informal comments will assist you in resolving this matter.

Sincerely,

Gerry Hammond

Senior Assistant Attorney General

GH/tsh

Enclosures: Attorney General Opinion 2004-15

        Informal Opinion to Matthews, dated July 12, 2004

cc: M. Gene Stephens ([email protected])

[1] Section 119.011(2), Fla. Stat.

[2] See Ops. Att'y Gen. Fla. 86-21 (1986) and 86-93 (1986), concluding that the Sunshine Law does not require public boards to tape record meetings, however, if it chooses to do so, the tape recordings are public records.

[3] 379 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 1980).

[4] Canney v. Board of Public Instruction of Alachua County, 278 So. 2d 260 (Fla. 1973).

[5] Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 10-04 (2010). And see Occidental Chemical Company v. Mayo, 351 So. 2d 336, 340 n.7 (Fla. 1977), disapproved in part on other grounds, Citizens v. Beard, 613 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 1992) (characterization of the Public Service Commission's decision-making process as "quasi-judicial" did not exempt it from s. 286.011, F.S.); and Palm Beach County Classroom Teacher's Association v. School Board of Palm Beach County, 411 So. 2d 1375 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), affirming the lower court's refusal to issue a temporary injunction to exclude a newspaper reporter from a grievance hearing. See also Ops. Att'y Gen. Fla. 92-65 (1992), 83-43 (1983), and 77-132 (1977). Cf. Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 10-15 (2010) (special magistrate subject to the Sunshine Law when exercising the delegated decision-making authority of the value adjustment board).