First Amendment Coalition

Important investigations like this one by Holly McDede at KQED and ProPublica is why FAC goes to the mat for public records. Parents have a right to know if a teacher has faced prior misconduct allegations, including sexual misconduct.

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I Got Access to Hundreds of Teacher Misconduct Complaints in California — and You Can Too In her five years of investigating teacher misconduct in California schools, reporter Holly McDede learned an important lesson: What seems to be secret isn't always so — sometimes you just need to know who to ask, and for what.

"Operational security" does not justify withholding public documents about police staffing the day of a horrific shooting. “The public has a compelling interest in knowing whether law enforcement is sufficiently staffed and ready to respond to crises as they arise,” says FAC Legal Director David Loy.

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San Diego police still investigating staffing, response to Islamic Center shooting NBC 7 filed a public records request for staffing levels on the day of the shooting, a request SDPD denied, citing “operational security.”

The Department of Justice seeks to unmask critics of the administration's deportation policies. But anonymous speech has always been at the core of free speech, starting with the Federalist Papers.

America's founding fathers “understood at a very visceral level that in order to speak your mind, sometimes you need to be able to do so anonymously,” FAC's David Snyder tells Bloomberg.

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The DOJ wants to know who on Reddit and X is criticizing ICE’s tactics The US Justice Department is seeking the names, addresses, and banking information of Reddit and X users, ratcheting up efforts to identify social media critics of government deportation efforts.

TONIGHT! Thanks NAHJ Bay Area and Mission Local for hosting what will be an information-filled evening!

BREAKING: FAC represents journalist Holly McDede in a lawsuit against LAUSD for unlawfully withholding records on teacher misconduct—including allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Public records are public for a reason.

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In a North State Library, FAC's Thad Greenson and David Loy unpacked California public meetings laws to a full room of Shasta County residents eager to know their rights. Thanks to our partners Shasta Scout and American Community Media and all who joined us!

In a North State Library, FAC Helps Meet the Moment, Answers Access Questions A recent Shasta County public meeting drew heavy engagement.

Journalists should not face arrest for carrying industry-standard safety gear while covering protests. We stand with the Pacific Media Workers Guild and ACLU of Northern California in fighting this Modesto ordinance.

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ACLU requests halt to Modesto’s mask ordinance as case moves to federal court Modesto asked to move the case to federal court in April.

📋 45 story ideas, press rights and public records crash courses, and much more was packed into FAC's Inland Empire Watchdog Workshop on May 8. Journalists came together to learn, connect, and sharpen their tools for holding power accountable. 🔍

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Journalism Watchdogs Gather in the Inland Empire FAC’s Paloma Esquivel and David Loy were among the presenters at a daylong journalist training in San Bernardino.

400 days on average for public records? The decision in Voice of San Diego v. San Diego Unified School District is unfortunate, says FAC's David Snyder to Courthouse News Service. "The public has to wait far too long.”

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San Diego schools prevail in records request fight with media Voice of San Diego claimed the San Diego Unified School District regularly took more than a year to fulfill records requests, but an appeals panel found no evidence the district had a practice of withholding documents.

A city's values and priorities are expressed in its budget. So why did the city refuse to disclose councilmembers' budget memos? “Wanting to keep these memos secret suggests that they’re not saying the same thing in the memo that they were saying in public," says FAC's David Snyder.

Cutting costs or raising taxes are "at the height of the public interest in understanding how the city works,” he tells The Sacramento Bee.

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