By Vincenzo Iuppa, MNEA Associate General Counsel
Something Better magazine, fall 2022
The Missouri Open Records Act, often referred to as the Sunshine Act, is Missouri’s attempt to ensure that members of the public have access to the workings of state government. Drawing its name from the adage that “sunshine is the best disinfectant,” the act provides requirements for elected bodies when they meet and allows members of the public to access documents created or stored by public bodies. The Sunshine Act provides a potent tool for discovering information about the internal workings of a school district, but many public education employees are not aware that the Sunshine Act can also apply to documents district employees create.
Sunshine opportunities
The Sunshine Act provides a variety of opportunities for an education advocate, or anyone interested in the inner workings of a school district, to gather information about a district. For individuals interested in finances, most district financial documents are available under the act. These documents include any contracts for goods or services, any completed audits or financial reports, and most documents school boards consider when making financial decisions. For individuals organizing and growing their local MNEA affiliate, the act requires a district to provide lists of employees and positions held, along with salaries, to individuals requesting it. For individuals advocating around a specific issue, the act can require the district to provide documents, memos, and emails related to many non-personnel matters.
Sunshine considerations for public employees
Just as the Sunshine Act can provide access to emails and documents used or created by the administration, it can also provide access to emails or documents created by other education employees. Emails sent using district technology and documents stored on district servers can potentially be the subject of a Sunshine request. When those emails or documents are related to specific students, there may be legal protections for disclosure, but there are few protections otherwise. This means that if you use your work email to discuss personal matters or to conduct local organizing, you may be opening all those messages up to the public.
You may be thinking that this counters your right to privacy. Although that sentiment is understandable, when it comes to district technology, the short answer is that there really is no right to privacy. The right to privacy only exists where an individual has a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and the courts have routinely held that there is no such reasonable expectation when you are using electronic services or technology provided by your employer. Virtually every district has either a technology-use policy or technology-use agreement that explicitly states individuals have no expectation of privacy for district services and technology. If you are not sure about your district’s policies, reach out to your UniServ director to learn more.
Protecting yourself
It has become increasingly common for employers to provide a variety of electronic services and technology to employees. To best protect yourself, you should use those technologies only for work-related matters, even if you are accessing those services or using that technology at home. Personal or local organizing messages should either occur only on personal email addresses or be drafted with the understanding that they may be made public. Documents that you want kept confidential should only exist on your personal computer, and you should not access them with district technology. Anti-public education groups have started to use the Sunshine Act as a weapon to attack public education employees, and the best way to protect yourself is by being proactive in how you use district technology.
Lastly, if you ever receive a proclaimed Sunshine request from a parent or other community member, contact your UniServ director immediately and discuss ways to send that document to the district. Do not provide documents to a parent or community member without first receiving specific written guidance from your district’s administration. If you do not receive guidance on releasing documents and provide information that is protected by statute, you could receive discipline up to and including termination. Responding to Sunshine Act requests is the duty of the district, not the individual duty of a teacher.
If you have any questions on using the Sunshine Act to gather information on your district or if you need assistance on protecting your own communications, contact your UniServ director.