- Public schools are imposing steep fees for FOIA requests, charging parents tens of thousands or millions of dollars for information related to school activities, policies and practices.
- Parents have faced prohibitive charges in states like Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island. For example, an Oregon district charged $10 per email review, while a Michigan district allegedly demanded up to $18 million for information.
- These high fees are seen as a tactic to discourage FOIA requests, thereby reducing transparency and accountability in public education. Schools allegedly inflate charges to deter requesters from pursuing information.
- The heightened interest in school activities, fueled by pandemic-related concerns, has led to calls for significant reforms in public education. Advocates are pushing for transparency and school choice legislation to address these issues.
- The practices of schools and teachers' unions raise questions about governance and accountability in public education. Parents and advocates argue that these actions violate the principles of public education, emphasizing the need for reforms to prioritize transparency and students' best interests.
Taxpayer-funded public schools have come under fire for imposing steep fees on parents seeking information about school activities via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Reports reveal that some districts are charging parents tens of thousands – or even millions – of dollars to obtain documents related to curricula, policies and practices affecting their children. Parents from states including Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island have shared stories of being charged prohibitive amounts for FOIA requests.
For instance, one Oregon district demanded $10 per email review, causing a single FOIA request to total nearly $15,000 before fees were reduced. (Related: Biden’s Education Department has allocated more than $1 billion in grants to public schools to promote DEI PROGRAMS.)
These exorbitant charges have sparked accusations that schools are using cost as a barrier to transparency. "[Parents are] legally entitled to this information, but the fees are designed to price them out," a parent told Fox News.
The issue of parents being made to pay so much for information about their kids' schooling is troubling. FOIA laws stipulate that fees should cover only the actual costs necessary to produce the requested documents, but schools reportedly inflate charges to deter requests. This maneuvering undermines transparency and accountability in public education.
One of the most egregious cases involves Rochester Community Schools in Michigan, where parents like Elizabeth Clair were hit with a $33 million fee to review six months of emails containing the word "anti-retaliation." The district demanded an upfront payment of over $16 million simply to start the process.
School districts becoming less transparent about what they are teaching students
The impetus for increased parental interest in school activities is clear. During the pandemic, reports emerged of educators attempting to indoctrinate children with ideologies around vaccines and anti-vax rhetoric. Schools refused to offer lesson transparency, prompting many parents to file FOIA requests to get the information they needed.
However, responding to these requests has become a nightmare. Schools are using every loophole to stop parents from obtaining the information they need. Hyperinflated FOIA fees are one such tactic, but there are others. Some schools have used litigation and intimidation to silence parents who dare to question their policies.
In the case of Wayne County, Michigan, for example, a parent was allegedly tracked and blacklisted by the school administration for her criticism of virtual learning policies. The school district eventually settled with the parent for $190,000, but only after she faced job loss and other forms of retaliation.
Critics argue that such practices violate the principle of public education. Not only are schools supposed to serve the public interest, but they also rely on public funding. When schools start charging parents millions to access information, it raises serious questions about accountability and governance.
In light of these issues, advocates are calling for significant reforms in public education. School choice legislation is gaining traction as a potential solution, allowing parents to seek alternatives to public schools that resist transparency.
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