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Privately run taxpayer-funded Texas schools often withhold information

2013-12-16T14:27:22-06:00

By Morgan Smith The Texas Tribune Originally published Dec. 16, 2013 On a recently approved Texas charter school application, blacked-out paragraphs appear on almost 100 of its 393 pages. Redactions on the publicly available online version of the application often extend for pages at a time. They include sections on the school’s plan to support students’ academic success, its extracurricular activities and the “extent to which any private entity, including any management company” will be involved in the school’s operation. The “shaded material,” according to footnotes, is confidential proprietary or financial information. The school, part of an Arizona-based charter school network [...]

Privately run taxpayer-funded Texas schools often withhold information2013-12-16T14:27:22-06:00

Light of Day project stories under way

2014-01-14T02:49:02-06:00

University students have been using the Texas Public Information Act to request details on student fees as part of this year's Light of Day project of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. The first story in the project this school year was recently published by Texas State University students. Read the report in The University Star. Reporting is continuing the rest of this semester and early spring as students track how much money is flowing into universities through fees outside of tuition and where those dollars go.

Light of Day project stories under way2014-01-14T02:49:02-06:00

Texas Supreme Court justice: Open government ‘difficult, serious’ business

2013-12-09T19:10:02-06:00

Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Boyd said Monday his judicial perspective on open government comes from years spent on both sides of the issue and that public access laws can be too easily abused from either end. "The great challenge in this business is figuring out where to draw the line," said Boyd, who has worked in the Texas Attorney General's Office and as chief of staff for Gov. Rick Perry. In both offices, he said, he gained respect for the importance of government transparency. But he also spent years as an attorney in private practice representing clients who didn't want [...]

Texas Supreme Court justice: Open government ‘difficult, serious’ business2013-12-09T19:10:02-06:00

Suit alleges SAPD withheld puppy shooting records

2014-01-13T13:21:14-06:00

By Guillermo Contreras San Antonio Express-News Originally published Dec. 4, 2013 SAN ANTONIO — What happened during a San Antonio police raid at a Babcock Road apartment last spring in which two puppies were allegedly shot and killed? Only police know, and they refuse to release details, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the city and its police chief, William McManus. Patricia Taylor, a member of the grass-roots organization Texas Moms United to End the War on Drugs, filed a formal public records request for the police report a little more than a week after the May 10 incident. She received [...]

Suit alleges SAPD withheld puppy shooting records2014-01-13T13:21:14-06:00

Victoria Advocate: Calhoun County delay tactics show sunshine laws need more teeth

2013-12-02T15:04:21-06:00

Victoria Advocate Editorial Board Originally published Nov. 30, 2013 Calhoun County's fight to keep public information away from the public is revealing in many ways. First, we're reminded yet again that government needs to be watched. These county commissioners and the Calhoun County district attorney aren't bad people by nature, but many public officials have an alarming tendency to forget they serve the public. Next, the Texas Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act need to be zealously guarded and enhanced. Only because of these laws do Calhoun taxpayers know their elected officials entered into a secret settlement with a former [...]

Victoria Advocate: Calhoun County delay tactics show sunshine laws need more teeth2013-12-02T15:04:21-06:00
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