Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Privacy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident at Sachem meeting alleges FERPA violations, demands incident report and apology
Summary
At the June 17 Sachem Board meeting a resident speaker, Antonia, accused Waverly Elementary staff and district officials of withholding an incident report, leaking confidential student information and permitting a police interview of a minor without parental knowledge; she demanded a written entry waiver, an apology and immediate release of the May 21 incident report.
Antonia, a Sachem resident who identified herself as representing her mother, told the Sachem Board of Education on June 17 that her family’s May 21 incident report from Waverly Elementary has not been provided to them and alleged the district violated federal and state student-privacy laws.
"The district is failing its legal obligations under FERPA and New York State Education Law Section 5500," Antonia said during public comment, adding that she and her family called Principal Kevin Tupper and Ms. Hornick on May 21 and received no paperwork or updates. She also alleged staff leaked confidential details of an active CPS investigation to other students and parents and that a police detective interviewed a minor at the school "without her mother's knowledge, presence, or consent." Antonia further said her family was physically ejected from central office on May 26 and that the receptionist was ordered to destroy visitor badges.
The board clerk reminded the speaker not to reference individual district personnel or student names during public comment. The board did not take public action in response to the allegations during the meeting and did not provide a recorded timeline for releasing the requested materials.
Antonia asked the board for three items: "an immediate written entry waiver for the end-of-year events, written and in-person apology by Sachem staff, and the immediate release of our May 21st incident report." She also told the board that when she called district clerk Allison Florio on June 12 "she claimed she did not know the policies and hung up the phone," a claim Antonia presented as part of her reasons for requesting formal remedies.
The board proceeded to other agenda items. The meeting later moved to executive session for personnel and negotiations, and the public record in this meeting does not show the board responding substantively to the specific FERPA and civil-rights allegations made during public comment. The board has not recorded any formal action or vote in the public meeting minutes to release the family’s report or to require an apology; those next steps, if any, are not specified in the public portion of the meeting.
