Residents allege school official violated students’ right to privacy
BROWNSVILLE — Angry parents expressed their frustration Thursday to the school board about a school official who they say crossed a line when the employee allegedly announced grades of some students in front of others.
Parents told the school board Thursday that during an assembly for students Tuesday, the school official allegedly openly revealed many students’ interim grades for the fall quarter, which ends Oct. 29.
Federal law prohibits school officials from disclosing personal information about students, including grades.
During the school board meeting Thursday, the board quickly stopped the parents from speaking and did not allow them to reveal the employee’s name during public comment. Board President R.W. Brashear said the matter is a personnel issue, thus the law prohibits the employee’s name from being discussed in open session at the meeting.
Brashear also said revealing the name could expose the board to a potential lawsuit from that employee. He said until an investigation into the matter has been conducted, it would be improper to reveal the employee’s name because it would deprive the person of due process.
Instead, Brashear directed parents to discuss their concerns privately with the board in executive session.
“I feel what (the employee) has done is inhumane by sitting those children there and making them wait their turn to be humiliated in front of all of their friends that they have to face every day,” alleged parent Susan DeWitt following the executive session with board members. DeWitt, who has children in the district, said peer pressure is already an issue, and the alleged actions of the employee embarrassed the children and violated their right to privacy.
“They are pressured into things every day,” she said.
Billie Bayne, the mother of Brownsville school board Director Jeff Bayne, also addressed the board at Thursday’s meeting. After the meeting, Billie Bayne said she got many calls after Tuesday’s assembly from students and parents about the issue. Bayne said parents were concerned and told her that some students, not all students, had their grades announced publicly.
“That’s a violation of these kids’ privacy rights. That’s humiliating,” she said. “I went to the meeting because I believed the board should be made aware of the situation — agenda or no agenda. I was concerned about the students.”
DeWitt said that during the executive session, the board instructed parents to write down their concerns about the matter and submit those written complaints to the administration.
“They said they couldn’t do anything without a paper trail,” DeWitt said.
Neither the board nor the administration confirmed the name of the employee who parents have accused of reading the grades aloud in front of others.
While parents did reveal the name of the school official to the Herald-Standard, upon the advice of Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association attorney Melissa Melewsky, the name would not be printed at this time. However, Melewsky said the move by the board to not allow residents to speak raises constitutional issues, noting if they “want to give public comment to their elected officials that includes the name of their own child or that of an administrator they believe did something improper, they can.”
Superintendent Philip Savini Jr. said Friday because the matter is under investigation, he would not comment about whether there has been any breach of students’ privacy nor would Savini reveal the name of the employee while the investigation continues.
He said until the facts are in order and the investigation has concluded, the employee has a right to privacy and due process.
Savini said it is too early in the investigation to comment as to whether there has been any wrongdoing or whether the employee will be disciplined.