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Beatrice parent alleges staff privacy violations after son’s death, urges accountability
Summary
A Beatrice parent told the school board that district staff violated her children’s privacy after her son’s death and called for accountability and changes to protect student privacy under FERPA and related rules.
A Beatrice parent and district resident on July 14 told the Board of Education that district staff disclosed personally identifiable information about her son’s death without the family’s consent and asked the board for accountability and policy changes to protect student privacy.
“My name is Alicia. I have two students in Beatrice Public Schools district,” Alicia said during public comment. She said she and her family “recently lost my son” and described four concerns: student privacy protections, accountability for how the district handled the death, compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and what changes the board will make to restore trust.
Alicia alleged that district staff circulated a staffwide email that contained “very personal and inaccurate information” she characterized as personally identifiable information under FERPA. She said the district email claimed the Beatrice Police Department had notified district staff; she told the board she confirmed with the Beatrice Police Department that the department did not contact the district. Alicia said the email was sent two hours before district staff (she named Mr. Voigt) spoke with her or her husband, and that neither parent had consented to any disclosure.
Alicia described additional spread of information via staff screenshots and social media posts. “We started getting screenshots from staff, that were current, former teachers, friends that are employed by BPS,” she said. She said a coach posted on social media that her son had completed suicide; Alicia said the family had not publicly confirmed cause of death and that a sealed record of the cause had not been received by the family until a week after the funeral.
She told the board members the family requested a meeting with Superintendent Mr. Alexander and Doctor Nielsen to discuss how the matter was handled; she said Mr. Voigt attended the meeting without the family’s knowledge. Alicia said the meeting left the family unsatisfied and that district responses included what she called “not truths.” She asked the board to take accountability and to issue a staff notice that the original email contained inaccurate information and was distributed without parental consent.
Board members acknowledged Alicia’s remarks and the time limit for public comment; the transcript records no formal board response or motion at that meeting to investigate the allegations. The meeting proceeded to the business agenda.
