Journalism class, Monday 4/27 – Massachusetts open records laws

MA Open Gov guide

Click on the above link to take you to a PDF of Massachusetts open records law. Write up a one page reflection on your portion of the law. Address what your section of the law allows for (and/or prohibits) and an example of why you or someone else would seek this information.

Here are the pages you’re looking for:

Basic application – p. 3 – 8
Exemptions to the law – p. 8 -14
Categories – p. 17 – 22
Electronic records – p. 14 -16
Procedure – p. 22 -25

Open meetings

Basic applications – p. 26 – 30

For students studying how these laws apply to students in public schools and college, click on the link below. Read pages 1 -4 and the conclusion paragraph on page 8.

Click to access ferpa_wp.pdf

Public records

Pick one of these public record files to peruse for some interesting information. Come back to class at the end of the period with 1) something you learned about these famous people and 2) a broader idea of why these records were kept.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hex8e2g0cu6tziz/AAAmpLjQvMJ6iqxCCpHpsi-ta?dl=0