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Local advocate tells school board law firm altered records, raises FERPA concerns
Summary
At the March 11 Montgomery County Board of Education meeting, public commenter Phaedra Carson Foster accused the district's law firm and central office leaders of altering school records and urged the board to pursue transparency and accountability under FERPA.
Phaedra Carson Foster, a scheduled public commenter at the March 11 Montgomery County Board of Education meeting, told board members she has raised concerns about the law firm representing the district and alleged that school records had been altered to cover probable misconduct.
"When a school district allows a law firm and central office leadership to alter records to cover probable misconduct, it sends a dangerous message," Foster said during the board's scheduled public-comment period. She said she first raised the matter in December and that promised follow-up from the interim superintendent had not occurred.
Foster asked the board to decide whether Montgomery Public Schools would "stand for transparency and justice or continue shielding misconduct at the expense of the very students it claims to serve." She expressly cited FERPA — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act — while describing the issue as both an ethical and procedural failure.
Board members did not take public action on the allegation during the meeting. The meeting moved from scheduled comments to the next agenda item after Foster finished her remarks.
The district did not offer an on-the-record response during the public-comment segment. Foster said she had expected follow-up from the interim superintendent and called the absence of communication "an answer in itself."
