Sumner County School Board

8 Dec, 2016

Read TCOG’s comments on proposed model public records policy

By |2017-02-20T09:04:33-06:00December 8, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, requests, TCOG letters, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

TCOG Letter on Model Public Records Policy 12-7-16 Tennessee Coalition for Open Government provided written feedback Wednesday on the Office of Open Records Counsel's proposed "Best Practices & Guidelines and Model Public Records Policy." This policy is important because it is intended as a model for all government entities in the state as they move to adopt public records policies as required by a new law. Parts of the guidelines and model policy are beneficial to citizens and government entities -- such as an emphasis on the statutory requirement that public records requests be handled promptly. Adam Yeomans is TCOG's representative on the Advisory Committee on Open Government. He is [...]

5 Dec, 2016

TCOG encourages citizens to comment on draft model public records policy

By |2016-12-05T13:12:20-06:00December 5, 2016|Categories: Public Records, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel is giving the public a chance to review and comment on a draft of a statewide model public records policy. A new law requires all government entities in Tennessee to adopt a public records policy by July 1, 2017. [T.C.A. §10-7-503 (g)]. The law also requires the Office of Open Records Counsel, a state agency housed in the State Comptroller’s Office, to develop a model best practices and public records policy that can be used by the government entities. The deadline for commenting is Dec. 15. Comments and feedback should be sent to [email protected]. The model draft policy is extensive and includes many new guidelines [...]

26 Oct, 2016

TCOG files amicus brief in Sumner County case over emailed public records request

By |2016-10-28T08:03:53-05:00October 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , , |1 Comment

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals in Nashville in a case in which the Sumner County Board of Education argues that government entities do not have to accept a public records request sent by email. The case stems from a public records request made by citizen Kenneth Jakes in March 2014 to inspect the Sumner County Board of Education's public records policy. The school district denied the request, saying the method in which Jakes made the request -- by email and a followup phone call -- did not meet their requirements. Jakes was told he had to mail the request through the U.S. [...]

2 Sep, 2016

Tennessee School Boards Association files amicus in Sumner Schools public records appeal

By |2019-12-19T14:23:57-06:00September 2, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The Tennessee School Boards Association, which collects dues and represents nearly all school districts in the state, has filed an amicus with the Court of Appeals in a public records case against the Sumner County Board of Education. From left: Citizen Ken Jakes and Sumner Schools attorneys Todd Presnell and Jim Fuqua listen the judge's ruling that the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act. The Sumner County school district hopes to overturn a ruling by a judge that it violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it refused to let citizen activist Ken Jakes see a copy of its public records policy. The school board argued that [...]

2 Mar, 2016

The Tennessean: School board to accept voicemail for records inspection

By |2016-03-02T18:28:12-06:00March 2, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The Sumner County School Board met last night to adopt a new policy on public records requests after a judge last year said their policy violated state law. They had refused to fulfill a request two years ago because a citizen made the request by sending an email and following up with a phone call, instead of using the U.S. Postal Service or appearing in person. Read reporter Tena Lee's coverage from the Gallatin News Examiner: School board to accept voicemail for records inspection. Also, The Standard of Hendersonville's story by Sherry Mitchell, who also got quotes from the attorney representing Ken Jakes: School board gets court-ordered policy change just [...]

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