The developments at Penn State are in so many ways national news: the sex abuse allegations, the cover-up, Joe Paterno’s unceremonious dismissal, the riots, the tears – the list of stories goes on and on.
Tag: FOI
Stripped of access? Iowa court decides there’s no right to know how strip-search violators were punished.
In a split decision, Iowa's Court of Appeals has refused to order a public school to disclose records documenting the disciplinary action imposed on two employees who improperly strip-searched female students to look for stolen money.The case, ACLU Foundation of Iowa, Inc. v.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: For teaching hospitals, a dose of sunshine is just what the doctor ordered
Anyone who spends billions of dollars in taxpayer money needs watching. People who are convinced they are spending the taxpayers' billions doing the Lord's work saving lives need extra-close watching, because they are able to convince themselves that any amount of corner-cutting is justified by the importance of their mission.America's teaching hospitals owe their existence to government subsidies -- directly, to the tune of $10.9 billion a year from Medicare to subsidize medical education, and indirectly, to the largesse of the colleges that host them, receiving everything from free land to subsidized insurance to participation in state retirement plans.
When it comes to public records, schools can’t hide behind the insurance company
Despite all its good intentions, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act has often been misused by schools to deny any number of valid open records requests, leaving a string of court cases to interpret the law.A recent decision out of Arizona ended with a judge ruling a school district couldn’t claim a FERPA exemption on a settlement agreement with a former student who was strip-searched by school officials.The history on that case goes back many years and is well worth delving into, notably the Supreme Court ruling 8-1 that the girl’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
Gym, tan … FOIA? Jersey lifts secrecy of government lobbying groups — for Shore.
New Jersey's Supreme Court has struck a decisive blow for the transparency of government spending, ruling that lobbying groups created by government agencies cannot hide behind their "private" corporate status to conceal their records.The Aug.
University of Kentucky Athletics takes heat for pulling student reporter’s access
The University of Kentucky is facing backlash after the UK athletics department punished the Kernel student newspaper by revoking its invitation to a special media event.After freshman forward Anthony Davis circulated a Twitter post welcoming walk-ons Brian Long and Sam Malone to the team Sunday night, Kernel managing editor Aaron Smith wanted to confirm the news from the players.
Ohio AG’s FERPA interpretation sends a message, but is Ohio State listening?
Ohio State University has been digging in its cleats for months against disclosure of public records relating to a blossoming athletic department scandal that has already claimed head football coach Jim Tressel as a casualty.
Arizona judge narrows scope of FERPA “education records” in Tucson shooter Loughner’s case
An Arizona judge's decision letting the media obtain internal college correspondence about Tucson shooter Jared Loughner's record of erratic behavior adopts a sensibly limited view of the type of documents that can be concealed as "education records."Arizona Superior Court Judge Stephen C.
More aware in Delaware? House bill would, finally, open university meetings and records
In 1743, Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia Gazette published a notice announcing the arrival of a new public institution of higher learning:
We are informed that there is a Free-School opened at the House of Mr. Alison in Chester County, for the Promotion of Learning, where all Persons may be instructed in the Languages and some other Parts of Polite Literature, without any Expences for their Education.In the centuries since Presbyterian clergyman Francis Alison opened the doors of a 12-student academy in his modest home two miles outside the village of New London, much about the University of Delaware has radically transformed.But this much has not: The public had no legal right to demand access to its meetings or records in 1743, and it still doesn't today.State Rep.
UNC will appeal FERPA ruling ordering disclosure of athletic department records
The chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said Thursday the school will appeal a judge’s decision and seek a stay in a public-records lawsuit filed by media outlets including the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper.The trial judge's April 19decision declared that phone records of university athletic department officials and parking tickets given to student athletes are not protected from disclosure by federal privacy law.In a press release, Chancellor Holden Thorp said the school is appealing because of student privacy rights, not because of a desire to conceal information about UNC's football program.“Our responsibility is to protect the privacy rights of all of our students, whether they’re on the football team, in the marching band or in a Chemistry 101 class.