Should government agencies be allowed to hide taxpayer-funded investigations from the public?
TPPF sued Highland Park ISD after the district refused to release the results of a taxpayer-funded investigation into allegations of financial misconduct involving the district’s Seay Tennis Center.
The investigation was serious enough that Highland Park ISD hired outside attorneys, who then hired an accounting firm to conduct an independent review. Yet when Texans requested the report under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), the district refused to release it.
Now, organizations like the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) have filed an amicus brief supporting Highland Park ISD’s effort to keep the report secret. Their argument could allow government entities across Texas to shield investigations into fraud, corruption, payroll abuse, bid rigging, misconduct, and other wrongdoing simply because attorneys were involved in the process.
If this legal theory prevails, taxpayers may never learn the results of investigations funded with their own money.
In this video, we examine:
✅ The Highland Park ISD transparency lawsuit
✅ The fight over the Texas Public Information Act
✅ TASB and TAC’s role in opposing government transparency
✅ Why public access to investigative reports matters
✅ The broader implications for accountability in Texas government
Texans deserve transparency, accountability, and access to public records.