New England First Amendment Coalition

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January 2026

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We Want to Hear From You!

As a member of the NEFAC Community, you are in the company of journalists, academics and other fans of the First Amendment and open government. We look forward to seeing you at our events and hearing from you about our programs.

Public Agency Workshops

NEFAC Provides Open Government Training to South Portland School Board Members

The New England First Amendment Coalition is now offering open government training and workshops to public bodies in the region.

NEFAC's Judy Meyer recently led a presentation to members of the South Portland School Board in Maine. She discussed the state's Freedom of Access Act and the need for transparency between schools in the district and the residents they serve.

"I was eager to have a quality presenter on the FOAA statute," said Rosemarie De Angelis, Chair of the South Portland School Board. "We had four new board members and most members had limited background understanding of the law. Board members felt comfortable asking questions and were supported throughout the training."

▶ Request an Open Government Workshop

Freedom of Information

Learn how your state's open meeting law has changed during the last four years and what developments — for better or worse — may be on the horizon. By attending these lessons, you'll get full updates to supplement everything you learned in our previous open meeting law lessons. Haven't watched those lessons? You can find them here.

Register for Upcoming Classes 

▶ Jan. 28 | Maine

▶ Feb. 6 | Connecticut

▶ Feb. 17 | Rhode Island

▶ March 6 | Massachusetts

30 Minute Skills

Now Available to View

Health Care Reporting 101

Instructor: Felice J. Freyer

Whether you cover business, labor, local news, politics, or even sports, you will encounter a health care story. This is the first of two lessons on health care reporting.

View this lesson to learn:

• Helpful sources for health care reporting.

• An overview of the health care system in the United States.

• How to scrutinize alternative medicine and pseudoscience.

▶ View All Previous Lessons

Register for Upcoming Classes

▶ March 19 | Copyediting 101

Additional Presentations

The NEFAC Community can be seen throughout the region with expert speakers regularly presenting in classrooms, town centers and on college campuses. Email NEFAC’s Justin Silverman at justin@nefac.org to schedule a guest speaker for your event.

Here's where you can find us:



▶ March 26 | First Amendment Decoded | SPJ Skills Fest

▶ May 19 | Shrewsbury (Mass.) Public Library