Ohio Code 3307.20 – Disclosure of records
(A) As used in this section:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3307.20
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Child: includes child by adoption. See Ohio Code 1.59
- compensation: includes amounts paid by an employer as a retroactive payment of earnings, damages, or back pay pursuant to a court order, court-adopted settlement agreement, or other settlement agreement if the retirement system receives both of the following:
(i) Teacher and employer contributions under sections 3307. See Ohio Code 3307.01
- Contributor: means any person who has an account in the teachers' savings fund or defined contribution fund, except that "contributor" does not mean a member or retirant's surviving spouse with an account in an STRS defined contribution plan. See Ohio Code 3307.01
- Employer: means the board of education, school district, governing authority of any community school established under Chapter 3314 of the Revised Code, a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics school established under Chapter 3326 of the Revised Code, college, university, institution, or other agency within the state by which a teacher is employed and paid. See Ohio Code 3307.01
- Member: means any person included in the membership of the state teachers retirement system, which shall consist of all teachers and contributors as defined in divisions (B) and (D) of this section and all disability benefit recipients, as defined in section 3307. See Ohio Code 3307.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- STRS defined contribution plan: means the plans established under section 3307. See Ohio Code 3307.01
- Teacher: means all of the following:
(a) Any person paid from public funds and employed in the public schools of the state under any type of contract described in section 3311. See Ohio Code 3307.01
- United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Year: means the year beginning the first day of July and ending with the thirtieth day of June next following, except that for the purpose of determining final average salary under the plan described in sections 3307. See Ohio Code 3307.01
(1) “Personal history record” means information maintained by the state teachers retirement board on an individual who is a member, former member, contributor, former contributor, retirant, or beneficiary that includes the address, electronic mail address, telephone number, social security number, record of contributions, correspondence with the state teachers retirement system, or other information the board determines to be confidential.
(2) “Retirant” has the same meaning as in section 3307.50 of the Revised Code and includes any former member receiving a benefit under an STRS defined contribution plan.
(3) “Law enforcement agency” has the same meaning as in section 149.435 of the Revised Code.
(B) The records of the board shall be open to public inspection, except for the following, which shall be excluded, except with the written authorization of the individual concerned:
(1) The individual’s personal records provided for in former section 3307.23 of the Revised Code;
(2) The individual’s personal history record;
(3) Any information identifying, by name and address, the amount of a monthly allowance or benefit paid to the individual.
(C)(1) All medical reports and recommendations received by the board from a member, member’s physician, board-assigned physician, or other entity providing medical reports and recommendations to the board under sections 3307.48, 3307.62, and 3307.66 of the Revised Code are privileged, except as follows:
(a) Copies of medical reports or recommendations shall be made available by the board to the personal physician, attorney, or authorized agent of the individual concerned upon written release received from the individual or the individual’s agent, or, when necessary for the proper administration of the fund, to the board assigned physician.
(b) Documentation required by section 2929.193 of the Revised Code shall be provided to a court holding a hearing under that section.
(2) No medical report or recommendation received by the board under section 3307.48, 3307.62, or 3307.66 of the Revised Code shall be released to the individual concerned or considered a medical record generated and maintained by a health care provider in the process of establishing a therapeutic relationship.
(D) Any person who is a member or contributor of the system shall be furnished, on written request, with a statement of the amount to the credit of the person’s account. The board need not answer more than one request of a person in any one year.
(E) Notwithstanding the exceptions to public inspection in division (B) of this section, the board may furnish the following information:
(1) If a member, former member, retirant, contributor, or former contributor is subject to an order issued under section 2907.15 of the Revised Code or an order issued under division (A) or (B) of section 2929.192 of the Revised Code or is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code, on written request of a prosecutor as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, the board shall furnish to the prosecutor the information requested from the individual’s personal history record.
(2) Pursuant to a court or administrative order issued under section 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, or 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the board shall furnish to a court or child support enforcement agency the information required under that section.
(3) At the written request of any person, the board shall provide to the person a complete list of the names and addresses of members, retirants, contributors, and beneficiaries. The costs of compiling, copying, and mailing the list shall be paid by such person.
(4) Within fourteen days after receiving from the director of job and family services a list of the names and social security numbers of recipients of public assistance pursuant to section 5101.181 of the Revised Code, the board shall inform the auditor of state of the name, current or most recent employer address, and social security number of each member whose name and social security number are the same as that of a person whose name or social security number was submitted by the director. The board and its employees shall, except for purposes of furnishing the auditor of state with information required by this section, preserve the confidentiality of recipients of public assistance in compliance with section 5101.181 of the Revised Code.
(5) The system shall comply with orders issued under section 3105.87 of the Revised Code.
On the written request of an alternate payee, as defined in section 3105.80 of the Revised Code, the system shall furnish to the alternate payee information on the amount and status of any amounts payable to the alternate payee under an order issued under section 3105.171 or 3105.65 of the Revised Code.
(6) At the request of any person, the board shall make available to the person copies of all documents, including resumes, in the board’s possession regarding filling a vacancy of a contributing member or retired teacher member of the board. The person who made the request shall pay the cost of compiling, copying, and mailing the documents. The information described in this division is a public record.
(7) The system shall provide the notice required by section 3307.373 of the Revised Code to the prosecutor assigned to the case.
(8) The system may provide information requested by the United States social security administration, United States centers for medicare and medicaid services, Ohio public employees deferred compensation program, Ohio police and fire pension fund, school employees retirement system, public employees retirement system, state highway patrol retirement system, Cincinnati retirement system, a law enforcement agency, or a third party that the state teachers retirement system has contracted with for the purpose of administering any part of the system.
(F) A statement that contains information obtained from the system’s records that is signed by an officer of the retirement system and to which the system’s official seal is affixed, or copies of the system’s records to which the signature and seal are attached, shall be received as true copies of the system’s records in any court or before any officer of this state.