A recent Michigan court decision is highlighting why the state ranks near the bottom nationally for transparency, and what lawmakers can do about it.

Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit from Rochester Public Schools parent Carol Beth Litkouhi, who sued to obtain course materials for a high school class.

“Under the Court of Appeals’ interpretation, only records possessed by the public body itself – not its employees – are subject to Freedom of Information Act requests,” according to the Mackinac Center, a Midland think tank that represented Litkouhi. “That means only records a school district has – not its teachers – are subject to inspection by taxpayers.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

The interpretation poses a significant problem for taxpayers and parents, allowing district officials to shield documents from scrutiny by simply shifting possession to employees, undermining rights spelled out in the Michigan Constitution and Revised School Code.

Legislation enacted in 2022 requires schools to post those important rights where school boards meet, in district offices, and in the office of each school.

“It is the natural, fundamental right of parents and legal guardians to determine and direct the care, teaching, and education of their children,” according to Michigan law. “The public schools of this state serve the needs of the pupils by coopering with the pupils parents and legal guardians to develop the pupil’s intellectual capabilities and vocational skills in a safe and positive environment.”

As the Mackinac Center notes, “Parents will struggle to direct the teaching and education of their children when schools funded by their taxes can easily conceal teaching materials.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

That’s particularly relevant in 2024, as Democrats in Lansing work to revamp the state’s sex education curriculum during a lame duck session with the goal of injecting the LGBTQ lifestyle into the conversation.

A 2015 investigation by the Center For Public Integrity ranked Michigan dead last for government transparency and accountability, noting the Great Lakes State is one of only two with Massachusetts that exempts the legislature and governor’s office from Freedom of Information Act requests.

In 2020, the Coalition for Integrity ranked Michigan 47^th out of 50 states for anti-corruption measures for public officials.

But legislation languishing in a House committee since June could change that dynamic, while also providing an avenue to close the loophole in the law created by the Court of Appeals.

Senate Bills 669 and 670, which expands FOIA to the legislature and governor’s office, could open “a new avenue for holding government officials accountable,” according to the Mackinac Center, though the bills also include “new branch-specific exemptions … (that) threaten to weaken gains for transparency.”

Whether the House Democratic majority takes up the measure before the session ends in December is unclear.

Both bills, introduced more than a year ago, cleared the Senate with a vote of 36-2 on June 26, and are now awaiting a hearing in the House Committee on Government Operations.

But Democrats lost their House majority in last week’s election, putting pressure on leadership to move top priorities before a Republican majority takes over next year.

Unfortunately, with a little over a month left in the current session, those priorities seem to be focused on injecting LGBTQ issues into sex ed, prosecuting social media claims that only two genders exist, restricting gun owners, eliminating cash bail, and installing speed cameras and automated ticketing.

“Transparency in our government is a necessary and important step in growing and restoring trust and confidence in our government and the people elected to it,” said Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, sponsor of SB 670. “These laws recognize the government belongs to the people and that secrecy and hidden information weakens their ability to hold their government accountable.”