Durham Board of Education convenes closed session to consider confidential student records

At a specially called virtual meeting on Thursday, the Durham Board of Education voted to convene a closed session to consider confidential student information protected under North Carolina General Statute 115C-402 and the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g.

A board member moved that the body "convene into close session to consider confidential student information," citing the state statute and FERPA. The motion was seconded by Miss Carter, the meeting record shows. During the virtual voice vote, Mrs. Jessica Carter Autton said, "I vote I." The transcript records another affirmative vote as "Mrs. Ber" (the name appears truncated in the transcript) and Betina Umstead saying, "I vote I." The motion carried and the board moved into closed session.

Participants addressed a brief technical check before entering closed session — a speaker asked, "Can y'all hear me?" and others confirmed audio. A participant then stopped screen sharing as the meeting prepared to proceed. The record shows the board later returned to open session, reported there was no further business and adjourned the meeting.

The meeting record does not identify the member who made the motion by name; the second was recorded as "Miss Carter" and can be matched to Mrs. Jessica Carter Autton in the vote. The transcript does not provide any public details about the matters discussed in closed session; the board cited statutory and federal privacy protections as the basis for meeting privately. No formal actions or decisions about policy or public matters were recorded in open session following the closed session.