National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

Author: NFOIC

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Posts by NFOIC

Connecticut teacher evaluation data likely to be made public, not individual scores

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Controversy is mounting over whether the state will require teachers to be evaluated and graded based partly on student test scores, but under pressure from the Freedom of Information Commission, the state is poised to begin releasing some evaluation data to the public.

The state legislature is currently considering a bill, sponsored by 52 of its 187 members, that would override the State Board of Education's push to link student test scores and teacher evaluations.

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Opinion: Open data + increased disclosure = Better public-private partnerships

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The benefits of open and participatory public procurement are increasingly being recognized by international bodies such as the Group of 20 major economies, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and multilateral development banks.

Value for money, more competition, and better goods and services for citizens all result from increased disclosure of contract data.

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D.C. Rental Housing Commission providing better public information; DCOGC inquiry gets results

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The D.C. Rental Housing Commission, a three-member body that sets rent ceilings, writes necessary regulations and hears appeals of decisions on rent complaints, in recent weeks has begun operating in greater sunshine.

The commission, independent in its work but administered within the Department of Housing and Community Development, for years published little online information about its activity, including when its meetings would be held, minutes afterwards, or details of hearings.

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Opinion: We must not allow government secrecy in Rhode Island

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Rhode Island was the 49th state in the country to enact an open records law, and that reluctant show of support for government transparency still demonstrates itself in numerous ways.

Regrettably, when even the courts fail to vigorously enforce that law, the public’s right to know is bound to suffer significantly. The Rhode Island Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Caleb Chafee case highlights that.

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Philadelphia goes transparent — with its data

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As Philadelphia’s chief data officer, Tim Wisniewski, 28, holds a fairly new job title. He helps publish the city’s data—employee salaries, crimes and property assessments, among other things—for public consumption on the Web.

It’s all in the spirit of transparency and spurring civic innovation. Since Mr. Wisniewski took over in 2014, he has seen a number of promising outcomes, he says.

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Montana Supreme Court to hear Krakauer records case

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The Montana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in Jon Krakauer v. State of Montana and Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian.

Investigative journalist and bestselling author Krakauer is seeking records related to the decision to vacate former University of Montana Grizzlies quarterback Jordan Johnson's expulsion after multiple university proceedings found him guilty of rape.

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Opinion: On open government, Wisconsin citizens were the real winners

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What came through loud and clear at the Wisconsin Watchdog Awards dinner last week was that the true winner in last year's fights over open government issues was you.

Well-deserved awards were given, including the 2016 Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award to attorney Robert Dreps, who has spent his career fighting for the public's right to know.

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How a simple request got me blacklisted by the Pentagon

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The Department of Defense has a lot of problems — a series of wars in Iraq that never seem to fully end, a conflict in Afghanistan that just won’t end, quasi-wars in Pakistan and Yemen and Somalia with no end in sight; a proliferation of terror groups around the globe; and its numerous failed, failing, and scuttled training efforts to create local proxy armies.

And then there’s me.

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Foiled by FOIL: How NYC agency has dragged out a request for public records for nearly a year.

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Ten months ago, three teenaged boys who had escaped from a group home in Brooklyn were arrested for the violent assault and rape of a woman in Manhattan. The boys had been placed in the home as part of a program run by New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, which had been seeking alternatives to formal detention facilities for troubled youngsters caught up in the juvenile justice system.

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