Illinois Legislators Move to Exempt Teacher Performance Records from Public Disclosure

Illinois legislators passed a bill exempting performance evaluations of teachers and school administrators from public disclosures. Lobbyists for the teachers' unions had urged the change to the sweeping overhaul to the state's FOIA enacted five months ago, contending that performance evaluations are private and their disclosure would interfere with the evaluation process. Open records advocates disagree, saying it's in the public interest to know whether teachers or school administrators are substandard in their performance.

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Judge temporarily halts release school employees home addresses

After Pennsylvania State Education Association's petition to exempt school district employees' home addresses from public records, a state appellate court judge issued a temporary halt and is expected to schedule a hearing, the AP reported. The state's revised Right-to-Know Law exempts the home addresses of judges, law enforcement officers and minors from public records. The state's largest teachers' union wants the same treatment for school employees.

A state appellate court judge has ordered a temporary halt to releasing school district employees' home addresses listed on records requests made under Pennsylvania's new Right-to-Know Law.

The order issued Tuesday by Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle Friedman was made in response to a petition brought late last week by the state's largest teachers' union.

Friedman was expected to schedule a hearing on the Pennsylvania State Education Association's request to permanently end the release of school employees' home addresses.

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Are personal e-mails sent via a work computer public?

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will consider whether personal e-mails sent on work computers are public, the AP reported. A citizen requested e-mails sent by Wisconsin Rapids School District teachers to determine how much time they were spending on personal business during school hours. A judge ordered the e-mails to be released, but the teachers appealed.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide whether personal e-mails sent by public employees are subject to the state's open records law.

The case involves five teachers in the Wisconsin Rapids School District. A citizen asked for e-mails sent from their work computers to determine if they were spending too much time on personal business.

The employees did not object to releasing work e-mails but filed a lawsuit to keep their personal messages private. A judge ordered the e-mails made public, but the teachers appealed.

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Fla. teacher union sues school board for closing meetings

Following Miami-Dade School Board's closed-door "executive session" to discuss the budget, United Teachers of Dade sued. The union is asking for the minutes from all the closed-door meetings the board has illegally held and for a court order voiding any actions taken that stem from these meetings.

United Teachers of Dade, Florida's largest teacher union, sued the Miami-Dade School Board Thursday for violating the state's Government in the Sunshine Law and demanded that all budget decisions be made in the open.

UTD's suit alleges that the board broke the law when they met January 30 in a closed-door "executive session" called by Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

Under Florida law, the board is only allowed to discuss issues directly involving litigation or contract negotiations during executive sessions.

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Vermont Legislative Council chief says making certain e-mails public could infringe on rights

Another open records debate over e-mails.

In Vermont, the legislature has a policy of deleting e-mails after 90 days. Therefore, when a teacher requested records of communication concerning a school funding bill, none were available.

The Legislative Council is also arguing that communication between constituents and individual lawmakers are not open records and that making them public could infringe upon the right of constituents to petition their government.

Curt Hier has been trying to find out if a teachers' union influenced lawmakers' votes on a school funding bill, but says his requests for public records from the Vermont Legislature have produced nothing but frustration.

Hier, a Fair Haven teacher who heads school reform group First Class Education-Vermont, said he has been trying to investigate the Vermont National Education Association's failed efforts to get lawmakers to repeal a 2007 law designed to put the brakes on rising school costs.

"I've gotten a whole lot of different stories," Hier said. "All the roadblocks I see lead me to believe there might very well be some embarrassing e-mails to be had."

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Washington State Supremes Protect Teachers' From 'Stigmatization'

The state Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday that pitted the fear of stigmatizing an innocent teacher against the threat of allowing sexual predators in the schools to escape detection.

The scenario before the court was this: A teacher is accused of sexually abusing a student. The school decides the allegation is unsubstantiated. Under state law, should the teacher's name be disclosed?

By a 6-3 vote, the court fell on the side of accused teachers. The names of teachers must be disclosed only in cases where sexual misconduct has been found or some form of discipline has taken place, the court ruled. In unsubstantiated cases, the details of any investigation may be disclosed — but with the teacher's name redacted, or blacked out.

The issue was brought before the court by 15 teachers from the Seattle, Bellevue and Federal Way school districts. The teachers asked the judiciary to prevent their districts from releasing their identities in response to a public-records request by The Seattle Times.

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