Yet another WTF moment at school

FERPA is beside the point. I'm not saying to out the poor kid. But don't put out such a long train of tone-deaf bureaucratic garbage that makes the school district resemble the stereotype of what is bad about government. The school district could have said the same stuff in a third of the space and about 100 percent less stiffly.

 

"Therapy bag" ... Dick Cheney thinks that is a wonderful idea for handling 9-year-old children.

 

Hey, at least it wasn't "therapy hunting trip"

 

That's fine that they're following the law.

But in their statement, a couple of grafs down from claiming they can't confirm or deny, they're claiming there is "misinformation" and "misconception". By making that claim, they are doing exactly the opposite from what they say they are not allowed to do by law. They are essentially saying that the accused is lying, or that what they did is being "misconceived" (It's not a duffle bag, it's a "quiet" bag).

A simple, "We take any and all allegations of misconduct seriously and we promise a full investigation and will cooperate with the proper authorities if necessary" was all the school needed to say. Not try to claim that someone is spreading misinformation.

 

I have no idea about this particular case, but many people with sensory integration issues (which include most on the autistic spectrum) calm down significantly when they're in tight, dark and somewhat confined spaces. I had some sensory issues as a kid, and my favorite place was the back corner of a closed, clothes-filled closet. I also liked, and still do to some extent, to tuck every sheet on my bed as tight as it can be with me in it, to the point that I can't even turn over. It's somewhat comforting.

It seems bizarre to people who can tune out every conversation in the room plus the ticking of the clock and the kid chewing gum and the dripping of the faucet and creaking of the desk and the tapping of the pencil, but when you get so much input that it overwhelms you, sometimes the thing you want most is to remove all input with "white noise" for a little bit to calm down. That's what those dark, cramped spaces do. Heck, I think Temple Grandin even invented some sort of pressure machine for herself.

Now, I have no idea about the specifics of this case, and no one should ever be put in a zipped back where they can't let themselves out. That's cruel and potentially really dangerous. But the concept of "therapy bag" doesn't seem that outlandish to me in and of itself. I can think of times when something like that might have been helpful before I learned other ways to cope.

 

Sharkmc,

Like I said, if "FERPA" is the reason ... then you damn well say "FERPA" is the reason. Saying state and national privacy laws is broad at best and lazy at worst.

If not, it's a catch-all coverup.

And then like Baron pointed out, the super says they can't comment on it (in a 200+ word statement) and then throws out the innuendo of misinformation.

Smooth move.

I would hope that if a coach/AD/super/whoever told you that a bylaw was the reason for something, you'd follow up with "Which bylaw, exactly?"

For the school district's sake, I hope this is something that is being blown out of proportion.

Sadly, I think more than one of us feels that is anything but the case.

 

There is a school in my division that has a room with padded walls just for this purpose.

 

When I was a misbehaving 9-year old, I was tied and/or duct taped to my desk while the kids went out for recess (and one time lunch).

The teacher that did it still jokes about it when she sees me, some 30 years later. As far as I know, she's still teaching.

 

FERPA is for grades. That doesn't stop administrations from hiding behind the law to tease reporters and such. Lawyers come in, tell the school not to say anything, and use FERPA as a rhetorical shield. It's coaches who tried, however briefly, to use HIPAA as a shield for injured athletes. Universities still use FERPA to redact names on NCAA violation reports.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2009/06/22/NCAA_FERPA.ART_ART_06-22-09_A1_55E8IP4.html

Of course, in America, all matters like this are litigated until they hit the Supreme Court, where the political mood of the day holds sway. But I suspect a newspaper would win a couple stops along the way.

 

Just for the record, FERPA is NOT just about grades. A teacher, administrator, heck a school secretary, for the matter, cannot reveal any information about a student thanks to the federal law. Say, Johnny and Billy get into a fistfight and the local paper gets wind of it because the publisher's son attends the school. No one from the school can confirm or deny the altercation took place because of FERPA.

In this case, I agree the superintendent should have issued about a three-sentence response, indicating he could not release any information because of FERPA. And you are right, if I was the reporter I would have definitely asked the superintendent to clarify his statement in terms of what federal law was prohibiting him from releasing the youngster's name.

 

I've always wondered about FERPA really being about grades since many newspapers and the schools themselves print:

1) Honor rolls
2) Magna cum laude/summa cum laude lists (usually on graduation ceremony program), but also found in grad tabs

Wouldn't every single kid (parent) on those lists have to give permission for their names to be on a public list?

Or is that OK by FERPA since those are seen as, for lack of a better word, positive?