Tagged
Transparency
What the FOIA Revealed
On December 15, 2025, Oak Park District 97 responded to my FOIA request about their acceleration rubric. Here's what the documents show.
Floors, Not Ceilings: When Legal Minimums Become Bureaucratic Maximums
I asked my local police for traffic data. They said: 'File a FOIA request.' I asked my daughter's school if she could take a math test. They said: 'She's homeschooled.' Laws meant to ensure minimums keep becoming excuses to do less. Here's why—and what happened when I filed a state complaint.
The Ghost Rubric: When Requirements Reference Tests That Don't Exist
The district's published acceleration requirements reference tests they stopped giving in 2023. Midway through the school year, there's still no guidance on how the new assessment platform will be scored—or how the district is now identifying at-risk students. This reveals basic operational failures in managing acceleration, communication, and student support systems.
The Last Resort: When a Simple Question Requires a FOIA Request
I asked a simple question three times: What research supports your acceleration rubric thresholds? After three months of non-answers, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Here's what that reveals about transparency, accountability, and whether districts actually follow the law requiring 'research-based' acceleration practices.