Jackson Falconer
BRADENTON – A change in student expulsion notice policy was brought up at
Tuesday's Manatee School Board meeting, before a student's expulsion was voted on by board members.
The district's new policy going forward of no longer giving a somewhat detailed reason for a student's expulsion at school board meetings was met with consensus among board members and some opposition during public comments at Tuesday's meeting.
Board member Dave Miner brought up a recent Bradenton Herald article that noted the change in policy for the district's last three expulsions prior to Tuesday. Miner called the issue "balancing the rights to privacy regarding students versus our desire to be transparent."
In the past, the district would go into more detail concerning the reason(s) for an expulsion without revealing the student's name. Tuesday's item reflected the district's changed policy, giving "District Strategic Plan Goal 5: Safety & Security" as the reason but no details into the the offense.
Linda Neely spoke against the change in a public comment, citing a student incident that she argued led to an unnecessary suspension by the district as punishment. Neely said that community members should have the right to know about the circumstances and the process behind a school's suspension or expulsion of a student.
Staff attorney Mitch Teitelbaum, who said student privacy was the district's first priority in the matter, cited Florida statute
1002.221, which contains the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). "For us to go ahead and give bread crumbs to allow the public to identify the student would be a federal violation," he said. The statute says that "an agency or institution ... may not release a student’s education records without the written consent of the student or parent to any individual, agency, or organization, except in accordance with and as permitted by the FERPA."
Teitelbaum mentioned the Sarasota County School District's policy on student expulsions, advising that Manatee would be doing the same: "What they're doing is a hybrid. They're not giving the student's name, but they're giving the enumerated category and the decision by the board" at meetings, he said.
Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene also addressed student privacy. "A number of people have put the bread crumbs together and said to me, 'Are you talking about this student?' They were able to figure out which student is being disciplined," she said. Looking at other districts, she added, shows that they use a numbering system like Sarasota's when giving a reason for a student's expulsion in a school board meeting agenda.
Board member Dave Miner said the district should always balance privacy rights with transparency, but agreed that change in district policy was necessary. "What we're doing tonight is complying with federal law," he said.
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