Experts say auditors must be sure that the requested records are public records.
Tag: Fall 2004
Mont. ruling opens meetings of high-level college officials
In a 5-2 decision, the Montana Supreme Court found that the officials’ closed-door discussions of university policy and other matters violated requirements for public meetings in the state constitution.
Minn. court shines light on presidential searches
In a 4-2 decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court on July 15 ordered the public university's board of regents to reveal information about candidates interviewed during the 2002 search. The Supreme Court upheld rulings in two lower courts.
It's a jungle out there
Georgia Dunn was not surprised when she learned that Ohio school districtsperformed poorly in an Ohio Coalition for Open Government study gaugingcompliance of the state’s open-records law.
The audit’sresults, released in June, showed school districts released records the same dayor the next less than 30 percent of the time -- the lowest rate of any typeof public body included in the statewide audit.
Dunn, Ohio JournalismEducation Association state director, said compliance with open-records laws hasnot been a high priority for schools.
Kan. adviser fights removal by suing
Courts have consistently ruled that media advisers at public colleges cannot exert any editorial control on student publications. However, Johnson was criticized for content in the newspaper that he had no direct control over.
Editors sue student council for closed meetings
The Mirror’s former editor in chief Jessica Perciante, current editor in chief Heath Urie and current managing editor Christopher Marcheso allege that the university’s Student Representative Council and its president, Steve Gustafson, knowingly violated state open-meetings laws when they conducted closed-door meetings on Sept. 24, 2003, Nov. 19, 2003, and Feb. 4, 2004.
'Sunshine' forecast for La. minors
When a 16-year-old Michael Wayne Barker requested records from his school district about computer- and technology-related purchases, he had no intention to start a yearlong journey to change state open-records laws -- he just wanted to make a few money-saving suggestions.
Fla. district pays $20,000 to settle adviser's lawsuit
In May, the Palm Beach County School District agreed to pay Toby Eichas $20,000 in a settlement, but the district did not admit any guilt in the conflict. The dispute began during the 1998-1999 school year when the student newspaper published columns that school officials called insensitive.
Mo. legislature revises sunshine law to include university
Revisions to the Missouri Sunshine Law signed by Gov. Bob Holden on the University of Missouri at Columbia campus in June clarify, among other things, that the public university’s board of trustees is required to follow state open-records laws.
Supreme Court says COPA is likely unconstitutional
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 29 that a law designed to protect minors from Internet pornography was probably overbroad and unconstitutional, but sent the case back to a lower court to rule on whether new technological advances would make enforcement of the law feasible. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that a 1998 statute, which carried up to a $50,000 fine per day and jail time for anyone who exposed minors to harmful material online, threatened the First Amendment right to free speech if enforced.