News from Thrun Law

According to a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision, public school teachers are not considered a “public body” under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and records created and retained by an individual teacher are not public records subject to disclosure. Litkouhi v Rochester Community Schools, Case No. 364409 (Mich Ct App, 2024).

The FOIA requester sought a teacher’s “lesson plans, readings given to students (articles, publications, case studies), viewings (...

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) demands the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth! Recently, the Michigan Legislature passed Public Act 316 of 2023, which amends the Public Health Code to require a child’s parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis (i.e., the person legally responsible for the child) to provide a dental oral assessment for the child before the child’s first school enrollment.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year...

Public Act 236 of 2023, effective February 13, 2024, adds Section 11a to the Public Employment Relations Act. Section 11a requires within 30 days after hiring a bargaining unit employee, a school must provide employee information to the union representing that bargaining unit regardless of the employee’s dues paying status. Additionally, every 90 days a school must provide that information to each bargaining unit employee’s union. Section 11a does not specify when the 90-day period starts....

FOIA’s short deadlines coupled with the often-voluminous FOIA records requests can make it difficult to produce requested records within the statutorily required timeframe. Timely response to a FOIA request is a legal requirement, even if the request is received just before or during a school break. Under FOIA Section 5, a public school must respond to a FOIA request within five business days after the request is “received.” A FOIA request sent via U.S. Mail is considered “received” the day...