Indiana

Caught on Tape, Pt 3.

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Yes, there is more to this story.   By now you know Indianapolis Public School spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley may have violated Indiana’s Open Door Law by expelling a Michigan film crew from a public meeting on the budget last week.  The film crew was not disrupting the meeting, however Bewley expelled them for being “disingenuous”.

Since then I have learned that the line of defense the school district is using to justify their actions is that the gathering was not a “true public meeting” instead it was an information session for parents regarding school budget cuts so therefore not subject to Indiana’s Open Door laws.

Pardon me while I try to keep  a straight face.

This defense flies in the face of all logic for a number of reasons.  The meeting was advertised as a public meeting on the District’s website.  It was held in a public building (George Washington School).  Several school board members were there. And the film crew was there for nearly 45 minutes before they were asked to leave.  But what’s perhaps the most damning in all this is an interview given by IPS Assistant Superintendent Dr. Willie Giles that contradicts Bewley’s statements.

Here’s the quote from the Education Action Group, the organization that was kicked out of the meeting for filming…

We contacted Dr. Willie Giles, assistant superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, to ask what grounds the school district cited to evict Olson and VanderKooi from the public meeting.  We asked if the district or state law had a ?disingenuous? clause, allowing school officials to judge the legitimacy of journalists or their projects, before allowing them to enter or remain at a public meeting.  Dr. Giles said he was aware of no such clause. He acknowledged that the meeting was open to the public, and said he was not aware of any special procedures EAGF should have followed to gain access to the meeting.

Yikes.  The group has filed a formal complaint with the Public Access Counselor’s Office.   Does anyone see how IPS gets out of this one?

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on March 29, 2010 (boomark / email).