Circuit Judge Rules That Public Schools Are Exempt From FOIA Requests

By Phoenix Brooks | 

In a case that should send chills down the spines of parents who have their kids in the public school system, the Oakland County Circuit Court ruled that schools were not required to provide curriculum material so that a parent might learn what is being taught to their children in school and that a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was not applicable to the public schools system as it only applies to bodies within the Executive Branch.

It all began when Carol Beth Litkouhi reached out to her child’s school to review the material in a class titled “History of Ethnic and Gender Studies class.”

The school claimed that they either did not have the material requested, though the class had already been taught for a semester at the time of the request, or that the material was copyright protected and so the school was unable to hand it over.

Over the last decade or so, it has become increasingly more apparent that parents need to take a more active role in their children’s education. Aside from the overt political ideologies that are being inserted into the public school systems, there is now also a growing concern over teachers using their platform in the classroom to push their personal agendas.

The social media platform TikTok has been a popular place for rainbow-covered teachers with purple and blue died hair to proudly proclaim their stories about how their students are questioning their sexual identities or bragging about how many students in their classroom have become non-binary. There have also been instances of drag queens coming into classrooms and reading to children and, in one disturbing case, a male teacher dancing for his underaged children. The issue has become even more serious as faculty at schools are encouraging their students not to speak to their parents about the sexual topics being taught in school.

In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill into law that would prohibit teachers from introducing topics that are not age-appropriate for the kids. It reads:

“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Keep in mind, it does not mention anything about the LGBT community. For those who have actually read the bill, it basically says that the teachers cannot talk to students in kindergartner through third grader about sex or sexual orientation. While that might seem like a basic and common sense take on an issue, the Left in the United States blew up and labeled the legislation the “Don’t say gay bill.” The moniker was picked up by social media, reported by the corporate media, and repeated by Democrat politicians.

What the Left didn’t seem to realize, however, is that by labeling an anti-child grooming bill an anti-LGBT bill, it seemed to validate concerns parents have been having with the LGBT community.

In any case, the Mackinac mother was unable to gain access to the requested material being taught to her child in the public school district.

Frustrated, Litkouhi then turned to the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation who filed an FOIA request against the Rochester Community School District on behalf of the Michigan mom who simply wanted to know what the school system was teaching her kids.

Keep in mind that this is the public school system, and it is taxpayer dollars that pay the salaries of the teachers and keeps the lights in the building on.

Circuit Court Judge Jacob James Conningham wrote in his opinion that public school employees were not member of the public body and were not members of the “public bodies” mentioned in the legislation regarding FOIA requests.

Though Litkouhi and the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation plans to appeal the verdict, if it stands it sends a very frightening precedent in which only the Executive Branch of government is required to be open and transparent about its workings.

Parents are concerned enough about the woke ideology that has permeated public schools and college campuses, imagine a world in which teachers have no fear of parent ever finding out what they are teaching their kids in schools. Imagine a world in which local politicians, including lawmakers, are completely exempt from having to tell the public what they have been up to because FOIA requests no longer apply to them.

As we said in the beginning, this case should send chills down the spine.

 

Sources: Mackinac.org press release

Court Opinion

Complaint

Mackinac Center FOIA update

Image Source: YouTube Screengrab