We need real answers from the US Department of Education!
Gregory Smith, Director, FOIA Service Center
Integrity in Education recently launched an investigative campaign focused on the US Department of Education. Recognizing how many top staffers have direct ties to corporate front groups, we want to understand the full extent of corporate influence over the education policies stifling students and teachers nationwide.
We've made a big request, for important reasons. This administration has made a dramatic shift in the federal role in education policy; some initiatives have caused observers to wonder whether they are even legal or constitutional.
But last week, the US Department of Education notified us that they rejected our request for a fee waiver. They claim that we haven't demonstrated that there is sufficient public interest in the information that we're seeking, effectively sticking us with the bill for the Department’s lack of transparency. They know this fee could be prohibitive, but we won’t let them scare us off from finding out the truth. We’re going to appeal, but we need your help.
Please sign today to let them know that you are interested in the truth about what's going on at the US Department of Education!
Petition by
Sponsored by
To:
Gregory Smith, Director, FOIA Service Center
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Mr. Smith,
We, the undersigned, are writing to you because we are interested in the information requested by Integrity in Education in FOIA Request No. 14-00499-F. We join them in asking you to release that information, completely free of additional charge.
We have suffered through nearly thirteen years of test-and-punish education policy. Yet, despite promising us relief from the burdens of NCLB, Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s signature policies have only made them worse. States have been manipulated into changing their laws, adopting national standards, and accepting other test-driven policies in order to be eligible for Race to the Top funds and NCLB waivers.
We cannot help but notice that he and many of his top officials have ties to organizations funded by companies that stand to profit from these policies. Yet when we question whose interests are really driving the Department’s actions, Secretary Duncan and his associates respond with empty rhetoric, misinformation, and even insults.
We no longer trust the Secretary or his officials to tell us the truth, which is why we want to see their communications for ourselves. This is the only way we can get factual information about what’s going on in the Department, information we need in order to hold them accountable to our best interests.
As tax-paying Americans, we believe we have a right to know what’s really going on in the government agencies we fund and empower, without additional charge. Why should a small non-profit organization have to pay for the Department of Education’s lack of transparency?
Please waive the fees associated with FOIA Request No. 14-00499-F and process it as quickly as possible, so we can learn the truth about what’s happening at the Department of Education.