For years, federal agencies have been freezing journalists in public-records purgatory with a maddening tactic: The "thanks for your request, we'll respond to it (someday)" letter.It's the bureaucratic equivalent of the spinning beach ball of death, and twice as frustrating.Getting the "non-response response" letter trapped the requester in a no-win predicament.
Tag: Transparency Tuesday
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Mining the courthouse to explain the human impact of college student loan debt
As a combined result of the difficult job market and the crushing expense of student loan debt, many thousands of recent graduates are experiencing an unwelcome "reunion" with their colleges -- in court.The enormity of how much students owe is well-documented.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: An absence of ethics — taking the roll of school attendance fraud
For at least half a decade, school officials in Columbus, Ohio, carried out an inventive method of reducing the rate of student absenteeism.They erased the absences.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Journalists requesting public records from colleges are being treated like dogs. This Sunshine Week, it’s time to unleash some shame.
A federal privacy law meant to safeguard student grades, transcripts and disciplinary files continues being misapplied to obstruct public accountability, even where no legitimate privacy interests are at stake.Exhibit A is the University of Oklahoma's stubborn insistence that parking tickets are "confidential education records" under FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Majoring in football? What are your college’s athletes (quote-unquote) “studying?”
Records dribbling into the public domain as part of an NCAA probe of the University of North Carolina athletic program have disclosed that athletes flocked to particular courses that may not have been especially demanding.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: If it’s yours to watch, it’s yours to tape — pushing back against restrictions on recording public meetings
Camera-shy government officials sometimes balk at allowing video recording of meetings that are otherwise open to the public.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: As states retrench on openness of presidential searches, can journalists play “find-the-finalists?”
In their quest to conceal the selection of college presidents from the public's inquiring eyes, state officials are taking increasingly extreme and desperate measures.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Loosening the restraints — how to get information about school “seclusion” tactics
Managing unruly kids who lash out at classmates and teachers is one of the most delicate tasks for schools, and those who must manage emergencies when physical safety is at stake understandably resist being second-guessed.But there's evidence that students are at times pinned, tied up or locked away in closet-sized isolation rooms for just being annoying even if they do not present a danger to others.Federal statistics indicate that disabled students and racial minorities are disproportionately likely to be placed under physical restraint, raising questions about whether the safety measures are administered even-handedly.Finding out what techniques your school district uses to respond to assaultive kids -- and how often -- should be a matter of a single public records request.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Junk fees add baggage to college tuition bills
Historical trivia fact: Until 2006, American phone consumers were paying a 3 percent tax on long-distance phone calls -- to cover the cost of fighting the Spanish-American War.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Are state salaries really a state secret?
If you're curious how much Southern Utah University pays its president ($281,513 in base salary) or head basketball coach ($206,628), that's long been accessible with a few keystrokes.