The Martin County School District recognizes its responsibility to maintain public records and to make such documents, created in the normal course of business, available for inspection and reproduction.
Requests for Martin County School District public records should be directed to the MCSD Department of Public Information & Community Relations at 1939 SE Federal Highway, Stuart, Florida 34994, (772) 219-1200, ext. 30368 or through the Let's Talk portal.
PLEASE NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS OR DIPLOMAS ARE NOT PUBLIC RECORDS, please contact the Student Records Manager at agustim@martinschools.org or 772-219-1200 ext. 30427.
“Public Records” are defined by F.S. 119.011(11), as:
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.
Under Florida Statute 119, any person may inspect and request copies of “public records” of the District during the regular business hours of the office in which such records are maintained. The Superintendent is authorized to grant or refuse access to the records of the District in accordance with the intent of this policy and applicable law.
The Superintendent or designee shall, within a reasonable amount of time, advise the requester of any fees that shall be incurred to fulfill the request for public records, and the approximate time it shall take to make the records available. The requester shall then arrange for his/her inspection of copies with the Superintendent or designee. All public records shall be available for inspection or copying under the supervision of the custodian (or designee) of the public records at any reasonable time during normal office hours of the District office or another office in which records are maintained. If the records or any part of them are exempt in accordance with F.S. 119.07 and 119.071, the exemptions will be identified in writing to the person making the request, citing the specific statutory basis for exemption.
The requester has the option to either inspect the records or receive a copy of the records. A person may purchase copies of the District’s public records upon payment of a fee in advance. There is a charge of $.15 per one-sided copy, $.20 per double-sided copy, and one dollar ($1.00) per page for a certified copy of a public record.
An additional reasonable charge may be charged for labor and overhead associated with the duplication of oversized documents, such as maps, photographs, blueprints, computer reports, labels, etc.
If the nature or volume of public records requested to be inspected, examined, or copied is such as to require extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by District personnel, the Superintendent or designee may charge in addition to the actual cost of the duplication, the labor cost of the personnel providing the service. For purposes of this rule, “extensive” means that it will take more than thirty (30) minutes to locate, review for confidential information, copy and re-file the requested material.
Public Records vs. Public Information: A request for information is a request in which the requested information does not already exist in public record form. A specific request for information may or may not have a record that can fulfill the request -if a record exists, it will be provided as permitted by law. The District is not required by law to respond to requests for information or requests to answer questions. The District may elect to do so as a public service when the work involved can be accomplished quickly, or when answering requests of a certain nature that are part of the District’s duties and responsibilities.
Public records must exist in order to be provided. That may sound simple, but many times individuals request information they think the District maintains, when in fact, it doesn't. This can lead to the misconception that information is not being provided. Records maintained by the District will always be made available for public inspection and reproduction.
Note: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.