School curricula to stay hidden from parents, high court rules

Michigan parents can’t request some school curricula under public record acts after the Michigan Supreme Court chose not to hear an appeal from a lower court.

On Sept. 25, the state’s top court denied an appeal filed by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy on behalf of a Rochester parent who requested the curriculum for a class held in the Rochester Public Schools district.

Through the state’s Freedom of Information Act, Carol Beth Litkouhi in 2022 sought course materials for a high school class titled “A History of Ethnic and Gender Studies.”

Rochester Public Schools refused. The district argued that the law did not require it to provide records held by teachers.

“At the heart of my lawsuit was a simple but critical principle: Nothing taught in our schools should be under the cover of secrecy,” Litkouhi, who ran for and won a seat on the Rochester Community School District's Board of Education in November 2022, said in a statement. “If there is any reason why secrecy is desired or needed, that alone is a red flag. The Rochester School Board felt it best to keep classroom materials secret from parents. They took money away from classrooms to fight this fight. Sadly, they have now succeeded in setting a new, disturbing legal precedent.”

In February, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school district, stating that only records possessed by a public body itself — not its employees — are subject to FOIA. This decision will restrict the information available to taxpayers.

“This isn’t just about a single class in one school district,” said Steve Delie, director of transparency and open government at the Mackinac Center. “The implications of this decision are enormous. It means that records held by local government employees across the state — whether they be teachers, police officers or township workers — are likely exempt from public disclosure, making it much harder for citizens to hold their local governments accountable.”

Lawmakers can change the law to define local government employees as public bodies. Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, introduced House Bill 4220 in May 2023, which would make the work product of employees, contractors, and volunteers of a public body subject to FOIA within the scope of the person’s duties to that public body.

“If the work product of a public employee is paid for by taxpayer dollars, taxpayers have a right to see it,” Tisdel said in a phone interview with Michigan Capitol Confidential.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Judiciary last year.