Due to the coronavirus pandemic, student journalists are facing issues obtaining public records and accessing what should be open meetings. SPLC staff attorney Sommer Ingram Dean said a majority of the calls to SPLC's legal hotline in March and April have been about COVID-19 related access issues. She said student journalists have called about: Experiencing… Continue reading Students face restricted access to open records and meetings due to COVID-19
Tag: sunshine laws
Access to public information restricted as schools move online
Many schools across the country are failing to comply with Sunshine Laws during the coronavirus pandemic, which is making it even more difficult for student journalists to cover the news. Daniel Bevarly, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, said the coronavirus isn’t a legally acceptable reason for universities to withhold public information… Continue reading Access to public information restricted as schools move online
Can my access to meetings be limited due to COVID-19?
Every week, Student Press Law Center attorneys answer a frequently asked question about student media law in “Ask SPLC.” Q: Can my access to meetings be limited due to COVID-19? A: If you normally would have access to the meetings (and they continue to occur), you have a right to be present. In other words, COVID-19 cannot… Continue reading Can my access to meetings be limited due to COVID-19?
Sunshine Week Roundup: Government transparency dustups abound in the Sun Belt
With a storm brewing in Arkansas and an effort to further open records exemptions in New Mexico, more and more states are working to move government further into the shadows.
UPDATE: Florida trial court rules UCF must turn over records to student news outlet
The 9th Judicial Circuit Court for Florida issued an order Thursday granting a student news outlet’s request for unredacted Student Government Association budget records from the University of Central Florida.
UPDATE: UCF files request for financial sanctions against student media in open records lawsuit
The University of Central Florida is asking a court to order a student-run news website, Knight News, to pay the university’s attorneys fees in an open records lawsuit the student media outlet filed against the university.
Knight News files third lawsuit against UCF, claims student government held secret meetings
A student news organization filed its third lawsuit against the University of Central Florida last month after the student government budget committee met and discussed the organization’s multi-million dollar budget in secret and did not comply with open records requests, according to the complaint.