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Resident Sean Driscoll tells board district delayed access to security footage, cites FERPA and OPRA confusion
Summary
At the Bound Brook Board of Education meeting a resident, Sean Driscoll, complained that the district delayed and obstructed his efforts to obtain security-camera footage of a harassment incident, saying staff first required an OPRA request and later told him the video "does not exist." The board said administration will follow up.
Sean Driscoll, a Bound Brook resident, told the Board of Education that in June of last year his son was harassed and physically threatened by two adults during a school multicultural night and that he has since encountered delays and conflicting instructions when seeking the security-camera recording of the incident. "To date, I haven't been informed of any consequences for those adults," Driscoll said, and he described a lengthy, multi-step process he said he was required to follow to view the footage.
Driscoll outlined the steps he said he took: he contacted the middle school principal, who referred him to a secretary; the secretary referred him back; the principal directed him to Christine Lee, the district's business administrator; Ms. Lee referred him to IT and registration; and he was eventually told to file an OPRA request for student records. "Sensing that this didn't sound right, I kept it simple and sent her an email with three basic yes-or-no questions," Driscoll said. He told the board that Ms. Lee later responded not by answering his questions but by saying an OPRA request was not required and that "the video that I'm asking for does not exist," which Driscoll contests.
Driscoll also said district staff told him the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) made the footage part of a student record and that the district therefore required special handling; he argued that a public event attended by many adults and photographed by attendees should not have required the delays he experienced. "I viewed this as an unnecessary delay as this was [a] public event with many adults in attendance taking pictures and videos," he said.
Chair responded to Driscoll's remarks by saying the board would follow up with Superintendent Dr. Freeman after the meeting to ensure the matter was reviewed and resolved. The chair did not offer further details or a timeline for the follow-up during the meeting.
What the board record shows: Driscoll named two adults he said were involved (Usan Powell and Tamisha Smith) and described both the incident and his attempts to obtain the video. The transcript records Driscoll's claim that district staff at one point told him the video did not exist and that he was directed to file an OPRA request; it also records his contention that those steps were unnecessary and obstructive. The board acknowledged the complaint and committed to follow up with administration.
Next steps: The board did not state a timeline for its follow-up during the public meeting. Driscoll asked the board to consider a referral for cause; the chair said administration would review the matter with the superintendent after the meeting. No formal board action on the complaint was recorded in the public portion of the meeting.
