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Born-Open Documents Act

The fight against politicized instruction requires transparency.

Model K-12 Civics Code
Partisanship Out of Civics ActClassroom Learning ActSchools Nondiscrimination ActValues Assessment ActAction Civics RepealAcademic Transparency ActFinancial Transparency ActBorn-Open Documents ActContractor Nondiscrimination ActSchool Board Election Date ActSchool Board Member Recall ActSchool Board Agenda ActLegislative Review ActSocial Studies Curriculum ActCivics Course ActUnited States History ActWestern Civilization ActCivics Literacy ActHistorical Documents ActReligious Liberty ActAmerican Birthright Taskforce ActAcademic Standards Adoption ProceduresCivic Intent ActFlag Code ActNational Anthem ActDocument Display ActSpecial Observances ActCharacter Instruction ActNeutral LawsLaws to be Repealed

Introduction

Public K-12 schools and universities too frequently resist accountability for their actions by refusing to make their records available to the public. They nullify Freedom of Information laws by charging excessive costs to copy records, or by studied inability to find a record unless it is specifically named by the person making the information request. Education bureaucracies therefore feel free to impose illiberal, politicizing policies on public K-12 schools and universities.

The world of science offers a possible solution. Scientists seeking to address the irreproducibility crisis of modern sciencehave begun to put into practice the concept of “born-open data”—scientific records that are translated into publicly accessible electronic format from the moment of their creation. Education institutions funded by state governments can and should put into practice the parallel concept of “born-open documents”—public records that are translated into publicly accessible electronic format from the moment of their creation. No fee will apply to born-open documents, and education bureaucracies will not be able to hide their existence.

Our model act first establishes born-open public records as a requirement going forward from a set date, and then establishes that no new policies, procedures, or administrative decisions will be valid unless they are justified solely born born-open public records. The act then applies this requirement to older records, although with a time delay to allow schools and universities sufficient time to convert their records into Internet-accessible public records. The act finally stipulates that no documents protected by “trade secrets” or any other sort of confidentiality requirement that prevents them from being transformed into internet-accessible public records may be part of, or justify, any policies, procedures, and administrative decisions (Section A).

Our model act then allows for exemptions for personal information or other information explicitly exempted from public release by state or federal law—but requires K-12 schools and public universities to justify their exemptions with reference to state or federal law and to establish procedures for citizens to challenge their decisions to exempt documents from the requirements of this act (Section B).

The model Born Open Documents Act should greatly limit the ability education bureaucracies to impose illiberal, politicizing policies on public K-12 schools and universities without accountability to policymakers and the public.

Model Legislative Text

SECTION A [Born-Open Public Records]

  1. All public records pertaining to any K-12 school or institution of higher education funded by the {State} government shall be “born-open public records” from {August 1, 202X}.
  2. All policies, procedures, and administrative decisions of any sort enacted from {August 1, 202X} onward that pertain to any K-12 school or institution of higher education funded by the {State} government must consist solely of, and be justified solely by, born-open public records or internet-accessible public records, including public records of all meetings that authorize policies, procedures, and administrative decisions.
  3. All policies, procedures, and administrative decisions of any sort from 48 months after {August 1, 202X} enacted before {August 1, 202X} pertaining to any K-12 school or institution of higher education funded by the {State}government will lose legal validity 48 months after {August 1, 202X} unless they consist solely of, and are justified solely by, born-open public records or internet-accessible public records, including public records of all meetings that authorize policies, procedures, and administrative decisions.
  4. No documents protected by “trade secrets” or any other sort of confidentiality requirement that prevents them from being transformed into internet-accessible public records may be part of, or justify, any policies, procedures, and administrative decisions from {August 1, 202X} onward.
  5. All policies, procedures, and administrative decisions of any sort from 48 months after {August 1, 202X} enacted before {August 1, 202X} pertaining to any K-12 school or institution of higher education funded by the {State}government will lose legal validity 48 months after {August 1, 202X} if they include documents protected by “trade secrets” or any other sort of confidentiality requirement that prevents them from being transformed into internet-accessible public records.

SECTION B [Exemptions]

  1. A K-12 school or institution of higher education funded by the {State} government may exempt an individual public record or a portion of an individual public record from the requirements of this act, if:

A. The individual public record or portion of an individual public record contains personal information or other information explicitly exempted from public release by state or federal law.

B. The individual public record or portion of an individual public record is listed as an Internet-accessible public record, in the same location and sequence as all other similar Internet-accessible public records, so that the existence of the individual public record or portion of an individual public record is transparently revealed to the public, even if the contents have been redacted.

C. The K-12 school or institution of higher education funded by the {State} government accompanies the redacted individual public record or portion of an individual public record with an explanation of why it has been exempted from public release, with citation of the governing state or federal law.

D. The principal or university president of the K-12 school or institution of higher education affirms, with electronic signature accompanying the redacted individual public record or portion of an individual public record, that the individual public record or portion of an individual public record contains personal information or other information explicitly exempted from public release by state or federal law.

E. The K-12 school or institution of higher education establishes a procedure by which any citizen of {State}may challenge a decision to exempt an individual public record or a portion of an individual public record from the requirements of this act, and publishes that procedure as an Internet-accessible public record.

SECTION C [Definitions]

  1. “Public record” includes all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, or other documentary materials regardless of physical form or characteristics prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body. 
  2. “Born-open public records” means electronic versions of public records that, within 24 hours of the creation of the public records, are accessible from the institution’s Internet website home page by use of not more than three links; searchable by keywords and phrase; in the same location and sequence as all other similar Internet-accessible public records; and accessible to the public without requiring a fee, registration, or use of a user name, a password, or another form of identification.
  3. “Internet-accessible public records” means public records that are accessible from the institution’s Internet website home page by use of not more than three links; searchable by keywords and phrase; in the same location and sequence as all other similar Internet-accessible public records; and accessible to the public without requiring a fee, registration, or use of a user name, a password, or another form of identification.
  4. “Meeting” means the convening of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public body, whether corporal or by means of electronic equipment, to discuss or act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power.

SECTION D [Separability]

If any provision of this chapter, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of its provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. 

The National Association of Scholars, in consultation with other supporters and friends of the Civics Alliance, drafted these model bills to translate into legislative language the principles in the Civics Alliance’s Civics Curriculum Statement & Open Letter. Just as these bills have been drafted with the expectation that different states will modify them as they see fit, they also have been drafted with the expectation that not every supporter of the Civics Alliance will endorse these bills or every part of them. Individual Civics Alliance signatories and supporters should not be assumed to have endorsed these bills, unless they say so explicitly.

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