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Board debate over weekly suspension reports: trustee seeks school- and grade-level details; district offers aggregated alternative
Summary
Trustee Van Hook pressed district staff to restore school- and grade-level data to weekly suspension reports for oversight; district staff and legal/privacy advisors said concerns about student identification and FERPA can be addressed by providing school‑level aggregate trend data.
Board member Van Hook argued the weekly suspension reports the district provides to the governing board previously included school and grade data that are essential for oversight and for spotting disciplinary trends. Van Hook said removal of that information prevents board members from verifying whether suspensions are applied "fairly and equitably," and she asked that school and grade fields be restored to the reports.
Board members asked questions about FERPA and the potential for identifying students from de‑identified datasets. One board member noted the district previously provided de‑identified reports and used them for trend analysis, including applying simple spreadsheet filters to sort by violation and school.
District staff and a privacy expert responded that removing some fields had been done following legal advice to reduce the risk of reidentification, but they offered a solution: the district can provide school-level aggregated suspension and discipline trend data that would enable oversight without exposing student-level detail. Superintendent Lautzenheiser and a staff privacy adviser said they would work with legal counsel and IT to deliver aggregated reports that would allow the board to see trends by school and violation category while maintaining compliance with FERPA and state privacy rules.
Van Hook said the aggregate alternative does not substitute for the prior weekly format but accepted exploring an aggregate dashboard as an interim fix. Other board members supported beginning with aggregate reports and refining the format after the board reviews sample data and counsel confirms FERPA compliance.
No formal vote occurred; the district committed to provide aggregate school-level trend data and to collaborate with counsel on appropriate report formats and redaction procedures.
