FOIA shaming coming to a school district near you?

I have to admit it, the school districts I cover are generally very good. They provide the information I request on a timely manner, hardly ever even complaining.

Except for one or two. Recently, I was asked to put in an ADVANCED request to see RECENT board agendas and meetings minutes, documents that should be available to the public AT ANY TIME, according to the California Open Records Act.

So when digital editor Lisa Mitchell passed along this new website, http://foiashaming.tumblr.com/, I jumped for joy. Would public shaming of a local school district force them to provide the records they need to provide ANYWAY?

I'm going to have to find out. And you know how much our local schools hate bad publicity ;-)

Stay tuned.

School Quality Snapshot for Califonia schools

Earlier this month, the California Department of Education unveiled a snazzy tool for parents and the general public to see how schools are making progress. It's called the "School Quality Snapshot" and it gathers about five years of data that helps paint a complex picture of how schools are doing.

You can see all kinds of results in the charts: passing rate for the California High School Exit Exam, graduation rate, fitness levels, proficiency in math and English, and more.

You can easily access the snapshot by clicking here and then typing in the name of your school.

Enjoy!