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Parent urges Carlynton to study protections for undocumented students; locker-room privacy raised as facility concern
Summary
At the Nov. 19 meeting a Carnegie parent asked the board to examine policies protecting undocumented students (citing sensitive-location and FERPA considerations) and another parent described inadequate privacy and broken fixtures in boys' locker rooms; the board said it would ask the solicitor and PSBA for guidance and will review facilities.
During the open forum on Nov. 19, a Carnegie parent identified as Britney urged the Carlynton board to consider whether district policy protects undocumented students in light of changing national conversations and asked whether the district had guidance or should develop a clear policy.
"So I just kinda wanna bring it to the board's attention ... is there a policy in place?" Britney asked, saying she works with families who are undocumented and that some parents fear coming to meetings. She cited sensitive-location concepts and mentioned federal protections such as FERPA restricting release of student information.
District staff responded that the district does not track families' immigration status and that PSBA (the Pennsylvania School Boards Association) develops model policies; administrators said they would ask the solicitor to "do some discovery" about existing guidance and whether PSBA was preparing model language under the incoming administration.
Later in the open forum, a parent raised concerns about privacy and maintenance in the boys' locker rooms at the junior/senior high: low pony-wall toilet partitions with no doors, nonworking hand dryers and intermittent shower problems that limit how many students can change at once. Parents and students described improvised solutions (draping towels across lockers) and longer change times.
District staff acknowledged the concerns, said minor renovations (flooring, minor locker improvements) had been done and that they would review both immediate fixes and longer-term renovation options. "We'll also take a look at the facilities as well," a district administrator said.
