Any decent school will give teachers open references upon request. It is good practice even law in most Western countries

No it isn't. They're not worth the paper they're printed on. No "decent" employer would take an open reference to be kosher without checking it with the employee's former company/school, which all but negates the point of having an open reference in the first place.

In Which Western countries is it law to give an employee access to a reference? Most employers in Western countries are covered by aspects of various data protection laws that don't require them to release such information. Nor is it is the policy/practice of most Western companies to release such information for fear of getting sued by some disgruntled ex-employee who got turned down for a new position.