Superintendent Dan Bauer briefed the committee on guidance from district legal counsel about student-privacy protections, public statements after school incidents, and the complaint-resolution process.

Nut graf: The district will balance timeliness and transparency with federal and state privacy requirements (including FERPA): administrators should acknowledge incidents promptly, explain limitations about what can be shared, and direct families to the complaint chain-of-command; staff training and community education are recommended.

Bauer said legal advice emphasizes limited disclosure of identifiable student information without parent/guardian written consent and noted legal exceptions for health or safety emergencies, court orders, or public-records requests. He recommended best practices including general public statements acknowledging incidents, staff training about privacy rules, handouts for parents that explain legal limits, and clearer guidance on escalation routes.

Bauer reviewed policy KE (public complaints) and policy KDB (records protection) as the procedural basis for the complaint process. He urged timeliness in responses and said administrators should follow a staged chain of command: teacher, building administrator, superintendent, then the school committee if unresolved. Committee members endorsed distributing an explanatory email or handbook material to parents and recommended clear, routine reminders about procedures to counter misinformation on social media.

The superintendent said the district will continue to consult legal counsel when requests or incidents raise complicated privacy concerns.