The plan for Tucson schools is to use "local norms" to place students in GATE programs. It's grading on a district-wide curve to expand diversity in advanced classes. Plus, Flowing Wells voters may have another school override election in their future, and more in local gov't meetings this week. Read more»

A Republican bill supported by Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes that would make ballot images a public record cleared its first hurdle Wednesday, despite concerns from Democrats about privacy issues. Read more»

If the Arizona Senate provides more detailed explanations for why it says some records related to the partisan election review it conducted in 2021 are privileged and can’t be made public, those records should remain secret, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled. Read more»

In the past week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has joined the growing list of Texas state and local officials fighting the release of records that could help bring clarity to how the emergency response unfolded during last month’s deadly shooting in Uvalde. Read more»

A new Arizona law which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023, will give people a chance to seal their criminal records, under certain circumstances - but the complexity of the process and longevity of online information may hinder its impact. Read more»

The Arizona Senate has spent more than $500,000 in taxpayer money related to the partisan election review it conducted in 2021, including on legal battles over public records and access to the audit facility. Read more»

Tucson's $158 million "fund balance" creates opportunities for the City Council to spend on transportation and public safety priorities. Plus, more in our quick look at what's planned for local government meetings this week. Read more»

Each year during Sunshine Week (March 13-19), the Foilies serve up tongue-in-cheek "awards" for government agencies and assorted institutions that stand in the way of access to information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock combine forces to collect horror stories about Freedom of Information Act and state-level public records requests across the U.S. Read more»

Communications between subcontractors, invoices and a host of other records related to the state Senate’s self-styled audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County must be released as public records after the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear Senate President Karen Fann’s appeal of an appellate court ruling. Read more»

Dominion Voting Systems filed a writ of mandate Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court to prevent the county from releasing financial information gathered during a contract procurement process - including one request made by a “sovereign citizen of New California.” Read more»

The companies conducting the controversial review of the election in Maricopa County won’t have to turn over internal documents and communications while the Senate appeals a judge’s ruling ordering that they be released under Arizona public records law. Read more»

A judge said the Arizona Senate's reasoning for why it rejected a public records request for documents relating to the ongoing ballot review — including who is funding the effort — would lead to the "absurd result" of effectively gutting state public records law and "erode any sense of transparency" in government. Read more»

Tucked into a budget bill on criminal justice is a provision that would allow the Arizona Department of Public Safety to outright deny releasing any video records the agency possesses and to heavily edit any videos it chooses to make public. Read more»

Republican lawmakers are poised to give the Arizona Department of Public Safety money to equip all state troopers with body-worn cameras — but along with the money comes severe restrictions on the public’s ability to ever see what those cameras capture. Read more»

After refusing to release school letter grade records distributed to Arizona public schools and claiming that no list of all scores existed, the Department of Education has reversed course and released the records to media outlets who sought them. Read more» 3