The Tennessean Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

24 Feb, 2016

Appeals Court denies Sumner Schools request; deadline to fix public records policy is March 1

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-24T18:28:06-06:00February 24, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Beth Cox, Court of Appeals, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, Kirk Clements, Sumner County Schools, The Tennessean|0 Comments

The Court of Appeals in Nashville today denied a request by Sumner County Schools to delay enforcement of a judge's order to bring their public records policy into compliance with the law. Todd Presnell, with Bradley Arrant Boult Cummings, representing the Sumner County School Board That means that the school district must update its policy, which Sumner County Judge Dee David Gay found to be in violation of the Tennessee Public Records Act, by March 1 or risk being held in contempt of court. The Sumner School District has spent more than $113,000 fighting a lawsuit after it refused to let a citizen see a copy of its [...]

16 Feb, 2016

The Tennessean urges Sumner school board to release legal bills in public records fight

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-28T11:57:26-05:00February 16, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Ken Jakes, legal bills, Sumner County School Board, The Tennessean, Todd Presnell|0 Comments

UPDATE, 3/18/16: The Sumner County Board of Education has released minimally redacted records of its billing statements for legal services in a high-profile lawsuit over access to public records. But the board has not yet been invoiced by a Nashville law firm for work done since Nov. 30, 2015. Read Sumner school board releases legal bills Original story: After receiving heavily redacted copies of legal bills for Sumner County Schools, the Gallatin News Examiner, Hendersonville Star News and The Tennessean sent a letter to the school district last week, asking it to justify its redactions or provide the information requested. Reporter Jennifer Easton requested billing invoices by the law firm Bradley [...]

26 Jul, 2015

Williamson County commissioners hold private meetings to interview school board replacement

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:49:58-05:00July 26, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings, school boards|Tags: Franklin Home Page, Gregg Lawrence, Johnston v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville, Kathy Danner, Knoxville News Sentinel v. Knox County Commission, private meetings, Robert Cook, Tennessee Open Meetings Act, The Tennessean, Williamson County, Williamson County Commission Commission, Williamson County School Board|1 Comment

Two Williamson County commissioners are holding private meetings with candidates to decide who should fill an open position on the Williamson County School Board, but the county commission attorney says their meetings do not violate the Open Meetings Act, according to two stories by media outlets. The Tennessean: Williamson Schools candidate raises transparency concerns Franklin Home Page: Opinions vary on transparency of school board candidate vetting Williamson County Commissioner Kathy Danner Williamson County Commissioner Gregg Lawrence The two commissioners, Kathy Danner and Gregg Lawrence, are responsible for jointly deciding who should fill the remainder of the term of a board member who is leaving. The practice in the past has [...]

6 May, 2015

The Tennessean: UT withholds emails about student athletes, citing FERPA

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T08:28:19-05:00May 6, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: emails, FERPA, Maria DeVarenne, The Tennessean, University of Tennessee|0 Comments

The Tennessean's news director Maria DeVarenne said the University of Tennessee is stonewalling the news organization's efforts to report on allegations of sexual assault against football players. In a story published today, reporter Anita Wadhwani reports that the university withheld emails between administrators "that could shed light on how the university and its athletics department responded to allegations of sexual assault against student-athletes." The university said emails about the students are protected under the Tennessee Public Records Act and the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. More from the story: The Tennessean in November requested email messages containing the names of five current or former UT football and basketball [...]

27 Feb, 2015

Reporters Committee, others file amicus brief in Tennessee police records case

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-27T15:04:33-06:00February 27, 2015|Categories: crime records|Tags: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Robb Harvey, Tennessee Supreme Court, The Tennessean, Vanderbilt rape case|0 Comments

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and the University of Virginia School of Law First Amendment Clinic have file an amicus brief with the Tennessee Supreme Court, arguing that a lower court's ruling went too far in saying law enforcement had the right to keep from public view a broad swath of police records. The case, The Tennessean et al. v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, started after the newspaper requested to see certain police records about a reported sexual assault in a Vanderbilt University dorm room. A trial court ruled that [...]

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