A showdown is occurring over the right to access the public records created by a prominent Tennessee school association, after the association sued a Tennessee man over his records request and a law firm subsequently sued the association to ensure access to those records.
The Beacon Center, a nonprofit nonpartisan legal group, alongside the Goldwater Institute, a public policy think tank, filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court on Sept. 22 against the Tennessee School Boards Association, a state-recognized organization that represents public school boards across the state.
The lawsuit came after the association sued a Haywood County man for requesting public records like lists of TSBA members, records related to TSBA membership dues,
and records about the group’s lobbying activity in April.
This struggle isn't new. In 2020, a court ruled in a previous lawsuit with Beacon Center that the TSBA must comply with state open records policies, given its usage of “public support” and status of being designated as a “functional equivalent of a state agency.”
However, the association argued in its new lawsuit against the Tennessee man that because of “significant” changes in recent years, the group should no longer be required to follow state public records laws.
The Beacon Center and the Goldwater Institute became aware of the lawsuit and decided to file another lawsuit. In the legal back-and-forth, one question unifies the debate: Does the school board association count as an arm of the government enough to require their records be accessible to the public?
“The Beacon Center found out about this, and they were like, ‘No, wait a minute. This issue has been resolved, and we think that they are subject to (Tennessee public records laws),'” said Director of Allied Litigation Dave Roland from the Goldwater Institute. “The central question is: have circumstances changed so much in the last couple of years that this 2020 court ruling is no longer valid?”
The TSBA did not respond to a request for comment.
TSBA sues Haywood resident following a records request
The entire saga started after Haywood resident Peter Maher filed a records request on April 15. He was seeking records regarding the TSBA’s member lists, dues, legal services provided to the group, and lobbying activity. Such information is often important to taxpayers who want to know how their money is being spent, and to parents who want to understand how the local education system is functioning.
Maher submitted a second records request the next day asking for any information relating to the discussion of four common educational topics, including hybrid access and social media.
On April 24, the association filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court against Maher, claiming the obligation to state open records laws had changed.
In 2020, the group received 90.25% of its budget from “public support,” according to court documents, contracted with the state, and provided retirement benefits through state government programs.
However, the TSBA stated in its filing that circumstances have changed so much since 2020 that it no longer thinks the previous ruling should apply.
According to the group, it no longer has any contracts with the state, “eliminating any claim that it performs a governmental function.”
Their filings state the group still gets around 90% of its funding from public entities, which they say comes from membership fees paid by school boards. School boards largely get their funding from state and local governments.
The documents do not comment on the retirement funding. The case is ongoing.
TSBA still required to follow state records laws, says legal group
The Beacon Center’s lawsuit focuses on the TSBA’s assertion that it not required to follow state law open records laws.
“Our position is that really nothing substantive has changed,” said Roland. “They still receive almost 90% of their funding from public sources — from taxpayer money. It's an organization that is made up of elected school board members from all over the state.
“You don't get out from under a court order by filing a different case and saying ‘Oh that earlier court they got it wrong,’” he added.
On July 21, the Beacon Center — after becoming aware of the lawsuit against Maher — sent a public records request to TSBA.
The TSBA responded to the legal group that it “does not believe that it is the functional equivalent of a governmental entity for the purposes of the Tennessee Public Records Act,” but still offered to produce the requested records for $390.30.
“It’s a weird twist to this whole thing,” said Roland. “They drew a hard line with Mr. Maher because they wanted to file a suit that would get them out from under this earlier ruling, but they apparently didn't want to go up against the Beacon Center.”
The lawsuit also notes that the TSBA charging for the records — something allowed under Tennessee public records laws — doesn’t make sense if the group thinks it's not subject to those laws.
“They are basically trying to have their cake and eat it too,” Roland said. “They get to try and pick and choose when they are going to act like an agency subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act, and we need clarification: Are they subject to this, or are they not?”
The Beacon Center states in their filings that the TSBA still performs “mandated legislative services,” still receives approximately 90% of its funding from public entities, and “every school board in Tennessee is a member of TSBA.”
Ultimately, the legal battle could determine accountability measures for the largest association of educational boards in the state. The Beacon Center lawsuit alleges that, according to all details mentioned in the 2020 lawsuit, the TSBA is still subject to the open records laws.
"TSBA cannot escape the important oversight and accountability provided to the public under (Tennessee public records laws)," the filings state. “Tennessee parents and citizens have a right to transparency when it comes to education and school board policies in the state."
Angele Latham’s role covering First Amendment issues at The Tennessean is made possible by a collaboration among Freedom Forum, Journalism Funding Partners and the USA TODAY Network. Freedom Forum does not provide editorial input. Reach Angele Latham at alatham@gannett.com, on X at @angele_latham and on TikTok at @angelelatham.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Public records fight ensues over access to TN school boards info
