Show me a river so deep, show me a mountain so high, show me a school board with a brain….

    There aren’t any scientific studies that I know of to support this perception, but if I had to put money on the most frequent sunshine law violators in the state, my money would go on school boards.  Somehow, it seems like the complaints go on and on.

    This week, a board in the state received a request for access to its school dress code.  The requester was told that a request had to be filed in writing in person at the school board headquarters and copying charges paid in advance before the policy would be released to the requester.

    (Imagine if every student’s parent had to fulfill that requirement before the information was released.  That would be a district a little short on the headcount for funding from the state, I’d wager a bet.)

    Where in the world do such concepts come from?  It’s district policy, the requester was told.  Don’t these districts even crack open the sunshine law books they surely receive from the Missouri Attorney General’s office?   What do they think the term “open” record means?  Show me where in the sunshine law it says a public body can demand requests for records must be in writing?  Show me where in the sunshine law it says a public body can demand someone making a request for a record must do so in person?

    Show me a school board in the state that understands that this is the public’s information, not theirs….