Policy committee debates proposed amendment to pupil privacy policy, forwards unamended revision to school board

At its May 6, 2025 meeting, the Faribault Public School District policy committee examined proposed amendments to Policy 5-15, “Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records,” including language that would have barred school officials from disclosing to parents certain information about a minor’s request for a different name/pronoun or for gender-affirming medical care.

The committee heard a written legal opinion from the district’s outside counsel, Margaret Skelton of Ratwick, Rozak & Maloney, who advised against the proposed blanket exemption. Committee members debated the policy language’s scope and the standard for withholding data from parents under state law before voting to forward the policy as it appears in the packet (without the proposed amendment) to the school board.

Why it matters: The debate centered on the district’s responsibility under Minnesota law to balance a minor’s request for confidentiality against parental access to records; that balance determines when the district may withhold information from parents and has implications for staff practice and student services.

What counsel advised: Committee members were read an April 29 attorney memorandum from Margaret Skelton. The memorandum, as read aloud in the meeting, said in part: “Current policy 05/15 is consistent with state law. I’m concerned about including a blanket exemption for certain categories of data when that exemption is not consistent with state law... Minnesota Statute 13.02 subdivision 8 states, ‘the responsible authority shall withhold data from parents or guardians... upon request by the minor if the responsible authority determines that withholding the data would be in the best interest of the minor.’” The attorney memo also cited Minnesota Statute 144.292 subdivision 7 regarding withholding health records when disclosure would be detrimental to the patient’s physical or mental health.

Committee actions and debate: A motion to forward Policy 5-15 with the amendment (the gender-identity/gender-affirming-care exemption) was moved but failed for lack of a second. The committee then voted to forward the version of Policy 5-15 that appears in the packet (without the proposed amendment) to the school board. The meeting transcript records a voice vote; one committee member said “no” during the vote. The transcript does not contain a roll-call tally for the final vote.

Members’ concerns: Several committee members raised substantive concerns about how the policy would operate in practice. One member asked how to raise points for consideration if they wished to propose additional changes at the board level and was advised that members may present amendments during the board’s discussion or prepare written concerns to share. Another member expressed unease about the phrase allowing withholding of information due to “emotional” harm, calling that standard subjective and noting it could generate different interpretations about parental rights and staff practices.

Next steps: Policy 5-15, as it appears in the committee packet (without the proposed amendment regarding name/pronoun or gender-affirming-care requests), will be sent to the school board for further consideration. The transcript indicates the board could accept amendments or send the policy back to committee during its deliberations.