Editorial: FOI bill is Democrats against democracy – Waterbury Republican-American

05/08/2023
Editorial

When it comes to fights over public education – from removing pornography from school libraries to ensuring racial essentialism isn’t laundered into school curricula through “equity” initiatives – the actual question is whether publicly funded educational institutions should be subject to public control. In other words, it’s a question of whether American leaders value democracy.

This is true at the college level, too. Indeed, public colleges in Connecticut receive so much money that they’re apoplectic over Gov. Ned Lamont including nearly $900 million in his recent two-year budget proposal. That amount of money, college leaders and students say, is unacceptably low.

But despite the fact that these institutions would not exist without massive appropriations of public money, some state leaders don’t think public universities should be accountable to the public. (Read More)

Shedding Light on Algorithms: Civil Rights Advocates and Lawmakers Call for Changes to Connecticut’s FOI Laws to Address AI Bias Concerns – CT News Junkie

04/25/2023
By Hugh McQuaid

Civil rights advocates and a group of lawmakers called Tuesday for changes to Connecticut’s Freedom of Information laws in order to shed more light on the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence by state agencies.

Legislators and university professors joined members of the Connecticut Advisory Committee To U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during a morning press conference to release the committee’s report on the civil rights implications of algorithm use by state government. (Read More)

Will Lamont Help Conceal Misconduct as Malloy Did? – Journal Inquirer

12/03/18 – By Chris Powell

Another scandal at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain is emphasizing the need not only for better management at the university but also for strengthening Connecticut’s freedom-of-information law against the constant sabotage by government employees and their unions. (Read More)