Propublica maintains examples of redacted documents with short descriptions. These include state and local documents as well as federal documents. As Zamora and Shaw note, despite the Obama administration’s promise of greater openness, its “take on transparency can be rather opaque. And as local reporters know, state governments are often even worse.”
One example, a Texas charter school application redacted almost 100 of the 393 pages because the school had contracted out its management to a private company and descriptions of the school’s educational innovations, extracurriculars, student goals and educational plans were defined as “confidential proprietary or financial information.”
- Redaction Classics: Send Us Your Worst, by Amanda Zamora and Al Shaw, ProPublica (Jan. 13, 2014).
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