September 01, 2010

Newark — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) announced the successful resolution of requests to review Lady Liberty Academy Charter School's (LLACS) public records and to videotape LLACS board meetings. After an anonymous community member contacted the ACLU-NJ to help her seek the school's records, the ACLU-NJ worked with LLACS to improve the charter school's practices for sharing information with the public.

As part of the resolution, Lady Liberty has adopted ACLU-NJ recommendations for greater transparency.

"We are proud that Lady Liberty has renewed its commitment to open government," stated ACLU-NJ Open Governance Attorney Bobby Conner, who assisted in the resolution. "This resolution helps the entire community by making sure that the most important information to the public is easily accessible."

Also as part of the resolution, the school will maintain its meeting agendas, minutes and other vital public records online in addition to posting specific details about the public's right to participate in meetings. Additionally, the anonymous requester has received hundreds of pages of documents sought from the school.

Lady Liberty Academy Charter School, established in 2001, fosters student achievement by providing Newark schoolchildren with a rigorous academic and social curriculum.

The ACLU-NJ's Open Governance Project, founded in spring 2009, works to increase the public's access to the workings of their government.