National Freedom of Information Coalition

MuckRock, NFOIC and other leading transparency groups receive $1.25M Press Forward grant to help local journalists obtain government records Journalism relies on public records, but transparency laws are weakening nationwide, with longer response times, high fees and more frequent rejections. Agencies know that few newsrooms can research…

A new initiative brings together the resources of transparency organizations and connects journalists with the country’s foremost records experts and strategies that can help them overcome challenges. www.muckrock.com/news/archive...

Open Courts Compendium | The Reporters Committee The Open Courts Compendium is a guide to court access issues for journalists, with specific information for each state and federal circuit.

Learn more about your right to access court records in each state and federal circuit using @rcfp.org’s Open Courts Compendium.

School officials withheld messages from the public, highlighting transparency law’s limits The failure of Grossmont officials to provide these records underscores some of the limits of California’s public record law — and raises issues now being litigated before the state’s top cou…

If courts don't have to power to enforce the Public Records Act beyond which records can be disclosed, "then the Public Records Act is meaningless" says @davidloy.bsky.social to @sandiegouniontribune.com www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/04/r...

'Alligator Alcatraz' contracts disappeared from a Florida state database A state official says the contracts contained "proprietary information," so they were scrubbed and replaced with bare-bones summaries.

"State contracts for Florida's controversial "Alligator Alcatraz" detention camp were removed from a public database and replaced with far less detailed documents"
reason.com/2025/07/22/a...

Thrilled that NFOIC is part of this Press Forward grant! “Our plan with this project is to put the extensive knowledge and expertise of the state freedom-of-information organizations into every newsroom."

MuckRock, NFOIC and other leading transparency groups receive $1.25M Press Forward grant to help local journalists obtain government records
mailchi.mp/c2b255eb7b84...

RCFP urges Oklahoma Supreme Court to allow release of jail surveillance footage Without reliable information about what the government is doing, or failing to do, the public is unable to conduct oversight and ensure accountability.

In a friend-of-the-court brief, @rcfp.org is urging the Oklahoma Supreme Court to allow the release of surveillance footage surrounding an inmate's death inside a county jail.

a woman is making a funny face in front of a brick wall ALT: a woman is making a funny face in front of a brick wall

It's not you. It's us.

The NFOIC website is down and we're working on finding a fix. Thanks for bearing with us.

Proposed school board policy aims to shed light on Denver Public Schools’ legal expenses The proposal would also clarify when and how the school board should hire outside lawyers.

"The proposal says the district would have to provide the school board with a list of lawsuits DPS is involved in and a tally of how much it spends on external legal costs."

PERRY — To Aurora lawmakers and protestors: If you can't beat 'em, stop trying - Sentinel Colorado 'The public and the city workers are dragged through this bi-weekly War of the Poses and really do struggle to keep up with the usual business of a very, very busy city government'

"Sorry if it sucks to listen to people you don’t like or agree with, city council members, but that’s what being a public official, and especially an elected official is all about."

As Virginia police reforms take hold, decertifications jump After decades when few law enforcement officers in Virginia lost the right to serve in sworn positions, recent reforms have brought dramatic increases in decertifications

After decades when few law enforcement officers in Virginia lost the right to serve in sworn positions, recent reforms have brought dramatic increases in decertifications. www.muckrock.com/news/archive...

How the Air Force Designated Its Next Fighter Jet ‘F-47’ The Air Force may have been caught off guard or was just unprepared when President Donald Trump said the next generation fighter jet would be called F-47, documents obtained by FOIA Files suggest.

The Air Force may have been caught off guard or was just unprepared when President Donald Trump said the next generation fighter jet would be called F-47, documents obtained via FOIA suggest.

'Public Records Are Sexy': Washington Post FOIA Director's Strategy for Document Requests - National Press Foundation The Washington Post FOIA director Nate Jones says journalists can use public records to fight misinformation and deepfakes.

“If you get a public record in reporting, get an image of that, splash it out there; show the readers under the hood what you’re looking at.”
nationalpress.org/topic/public...

Costs triple, delays mount in vital tech contracts This investigation was reported in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune. In a flurry of contracts inked a decade ago, some of Illinois’ most powerful

How a $9.8 million contract in 2016 ballooned into a $98.3 million one today.“Progress and accomplishments have been minimal; excuses and delays have been plentiful,” the three officials wrote in correspondence obtained through Freedom of Information requests.

www.injusticewatch.org/judges/court...

VCOG All Access News, 6/9/25: FOIA logs are working papers? comment warnings; DOGE & FOIA & SSA
opengovva.org/transparency...

Ansonia violated FOIA with written request policy Read More at Inside Investigator >>

🚨 A Connecticut city violated the state’s open record law by requiring written requests for public records. insideinvestigator.org/ansonia-viol...

#FOIA

Judge: Aurora PD must release all unedited body-cam footage of May 2024 shooting of Kilyn Lewis - Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition A judge ordered Aurora to release all unedited body-worn camera footage of police shooting and killing Kilyn Lewis, finding that the city denied 9NEWS’ requests for the video in violation of Colorado'...

A judge Monday ordered Aurora to release all unedited body-worn camera footage of police shooting and killing Kilyn Lewis, finding that the city denied 9NEWS’ requests for the video in violation of Colorado’s Law Enforcement Integrity Act.

Access to Police Records . . . "The public has the right to know" . . . Rhode Island APRA Reform . . . Trump Administration and Higher Education . . . Local Flag Ordinances . . . and more. conta.cc/3FJxMrc #FirstAmendment #opengov

Several CT bills would limit public access to records through FOIA Lawmakers have advanced several bills that could limit which records are accessible to the public or alter how public meetings are conducted.

ctmirror.org/2025/05/05/c...

Amid remote work scrutiny, Michigan refuses to release state office building occupancy data A department that oversees dozens of state-owned office buildings will not disclose how many state employees were present in buildings last year

www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...

West Virginia House of Delegates considers changes to public records access • West Virginia Watch The House is considering a bill that would allow the Legislature to write its own rules for disclosing public records.

westvirginiawatch.com/2025/03/26/w...

Today we honored the late Ramsey County District Court Judge Patrick Diamond with the John Finnegan Freedom of Information Award. His 2024 ruling in a public records case set a valuable legal precedent that contributes to open government in Minnesota. mncogi.org/2025-freedom...

R.I. Senate looks to publish written testimony online, four years after the House • Rhode Island Current Rhode Island Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight will hold an hearing Monday on a proposal to put written public testimony on the General Assembly website.

R.I. Senate Looks to Publish Written Testimony Online, Four Years After the House | Rhode Island Current

Names of various people and Jeffrey Epstein's contact book that the doj released earlier today. One name there is Donald Trump.

Page 80 of the Jeffrey Epstein's contact book that Pam Bondi's office released earlier today

We went to the Iowa Supreme Court this week to ask it to decide the constitutionality of a 2024 law a judge cited in his decision to close the courtroom for testimony about an Iowa prosecutor’s decision to add the Jefferson County sheriff to a list of law officers whose candor has been questioned.

It court, DOGE claims it is not subject to #FOIA, which is clearly wrong under both the plain text of the stature and longstanding precedent.

'Why am I here?': New Board of Education members frustrated with agenda access, immigration rule Superintendent Ryan Walters faced pushback from new State Board of Education members over an immigration rule at a Feb. 27, 2025, meeting.

#foioklahoma By Sasha Ndisabiye, nondoc.com: Kutmas, the board’s attorney, informed VanDenhende that the Open Meeting Act prohibited the board from discussing or taking action on any items not presented on the day’s agenda.

Happy #FOIAFriday: the DOJ is taking the position that DOGE is not subject to #FOIA. That's clearly wrong under decades of precedent (see, e.g. foia.wiki/wiki/Entitie...)

Stillwater City Officials Delay Public Records & Demand Unlawful Fees for FOIA Requests The People's Popular Paper

"The Oklahoma Open Records Act (51 O.S. § 24A.5(4)) explicitly states: 'Fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requested information.'”
theokpost.com/civil-rights...

Firing of FOIA officers leaves experts worried about public records access under Trump - Poynter ‘Anytime that whole FOIA offices are getting fired, it portends terrible things’

NFOIC board member Terry Mutchler is quoted here.
www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...