WATCH: How to hold Pa.’s schools, universities accountable.

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Transparency in K-12 and higher education helps empower parents and other taxpayers to feel connected and drive positive change.

Excessive secrecy among school leaders and boards can weaken that trust. That’s why journalists hold publicly funded institutions and the people who run these schools accountable for how they spend taxpayer dollars. Pennsylvania’s open records and meetings laws are key resources for information gathering, but there are limits.

At Spotlight PA, investigative reporter Wyatt Massey fights to access information from Penn State, the largest and most influential university in the commonwealth. Because of Penn State’s special designation as a state-related institution, it’s largely shielded from the open records law.

To celebrate Sunshine Week, Massey hosted a roundtable discussion with experts and other journalists to talk about education reporting in Pennsylvania. Watch the panel below.

Our panelists were:

• Wyatt Massey, Penn State investigative reporter, Spotlight PA State College

• Jillian Forstadt, education reporter, WESA

• Ashley Stalnecker, education reporter, Lancaster Online | LNP

• Ashli Giles-Perkins, staff attorney, Education Law Center

• Susan Spicka, executive director, Education Voters of PA

See below for resources and coverage discussed in the video.

Spotlight PA’s transparency coverage:

• How Local Government Works: A basic guide to requesting public records in Pa.

• Sunshine Week: 5 tips to win a Pa. open records fight and overcome secrecy in government

• Spotlight PA sues Penn State trustees over alleged violations of Pennsylvania's open meetings law

• Sign up for our Penn State alerts

Education Law Center:

• Inclusive Schools and Honest Education

• Open Letter to School Districts example

• Hostile Environment Complaint example

• FACT SHEET: The Right to Be Free from Bullying and Harassment

Education Voters of PA:

• Adequacy and Equity

• School Districts Fact Sheet

• Charter Schools

• Cyber Charter School advertising

Other resources mentioned:

• Memorandum of Understanding of Schools and Law Enforcement Agencies, Pennsylvania Code

• Police and Pennsylvania Schools, ACLU

• Model Memorandum of Understanding with Law Enforcement Agency

This event was a part of Sunshine Week, a national initiative spearheaded by the News Leaders Association to educate the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy.

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