Missouri's attorney general files Sunshine Law lawsuit against Missouri School Boards Association - KY3
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Edited News Release) – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit against the Missouri School Boards Association for alleged violations of the Sunshine Law.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office previously requested records from the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) related to its role in the October 4, 2021 memo from the Biden Administration and National School Boards Association that designated concerned parents who show up to school board meetings as “domestic terrorists” and called for FBI surveillance of those parents. The Office also requested documents related to MSBA guidance on critical race theory, mask mandates, and IEP meeting policies. The MSBA failed to respond to Sunshine Law requests from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
“Today, I filed a lawsuit against the Missouri School Boards Association for hiding public records – records that the public and particularly parents of children in Missouri’s schools have a right to see. For months, my office has been fighting to get to the bottom of MSBA’s role in the letter to the Biden Administration that led to the federal government investigating concerned parents,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “Further, we’ve sought records related to IEP recording policies, critical race theory, and MSBA’s guidance to school districts on mask mandates. At every turn, we’ve been stonewalled. On behalf of parents across the state, I’m filing this lawsuit to obtain public records about important issues that affect their children and children in Missouri schools across the state.”
The Attorney General’s Office argues the MSBA is subject to the Sunshine Law because MSBA is a quasi-public governmental body under the Sunshine Law, MSBA’s corporate structure satisfies the definition of a quasi-public governmental body, MSBA’s primary purpose satisfies the definition of a quasi-public governmental body, MSBA performs a public function and thus satisfies the definition of a quasi-public governmental body, MSBA’s funding comes almost entirely from public funds, MSBA provides the training required by Missouri law, and Missouri law empowers MSBA with important public functions.
The full petition can be found here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2022-03-15-msba-petition-(00000002).pdf?sfvrsn=382eb871_2
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source: https://www.ky3.com/2022/03/15/missouris-attorney-general-files-sunshine-law-lawsuit-against-missouri-school-boards-association/
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