What other bits of information are school personnel not permitted to disclose to parents, and how are we to know?
A federal judge ruled that a lesbian student can sue her school district and her principal for revealing her homosexuality to her mother. Charlene Nguon, 17, may go forward with her suit claiming violation of privacy rights, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled in a decision dated Nov. 28 and announced Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.Orange County's Garden Grove district had argued that Nguon openly kissed and hugged her girlfriend on campus and thus had no expectation of privacy.
However, the judge ruled that Nguon had "sufficiently alleged a legally protected privacy interest in information about her sexual orientation."
No trial date was set. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
"This is the first court ruling we're aware of where a judge has recognized that a student has a right not to have her sexual orientation disclosed to her parents, even if she is out of the closet at school," said Christine Sun, an ACLU attorney who brought the case.
Now this creates quite a quandary, in my opinion? How are we, as teachers, supposed to know what students have and have not disclosed to parents – especially when information is public in the school setting? After all, this girl was very public about her sexuality at school. And does this same measure of privacy also include other details of a sexual nature, such as a teacher becoming aware that a child is sexually active (but not being abused)? Where are the lines? This ruling leaves me very unsure.
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Comments on A Bad Ruling For School Administrators, Teachers And Other Personnel
Well, clearly you know nothing about being a classroom teacher. For good or ill, we become privy to lots of information that we would rather not have -- but which we find ourselves thinking might be important and desired by a parent. If we disclose it, we face a lawsuit from the kid. If we don't disclose it, we face a lawsuit from the parents. I just want to know what the lines are.
Oh by the way -- I just wish that I could chuck all the other stuff and teach. Unfortunately, we who work in the schools have had so many other dities added by government mandate that we sometimes wonder when we get to teach.
|| Posted by Rhymes With Right, December 6, 2005 08:44 PM ||You clearly don't understand at all. One of the unfortunate realities of my career is that I've come to know much more about the sex lives of teens than I would ever want to know. Take these two real situations -- where is the boundary between student privacy/parent's right to know?
1) Picking up after class, I find a note between a couple of my students. I discover one girl, age 15, is engaging in unprotected sex with a 17-year-old boyfriend when she goes to her cousin's home after school until her mom picks her up after work. Do you tell mom or not?
2) While discussing papers paper during class (topic -- write a persuasive letter to the principal proposing am extracurricular club or organization that you think would benefit the school), Student A proposes a Gay Straight Alliance. Student B calls Student A a "carpet-muncher" and claims that an hour with him can get her to "change teams". Student C stands up and tells Student B that "my girlfriends tongue does more for me than your little tiny nigger dick ever could." When contacting parents about the situation and the disciplinary actions against Students B & C, how do you deal with the privacy concerns raised by this court decision?
Please notice -- these two situations did not involve me prying. They did not involve me prying into personal issues or holding inappropriate discussions with students. One involved a situation in which parent contact was mandatory.
So, my little troll friend, would you care to engage in a serious answer to a serious question?
|| Posted by Rhymes With Right, December 7, 2005 02:41 PM ||Clearly, you are incapable of dealing with a serious issue in anything other than your troll persona. I had hoped there was a clever, intelligent, and thoughtful person behind the sarcasm. I guess not.
The issue is not one of "going to hell" or "making GOD hate them." It is one of legal rights and responsibilities, and of a clash of professional ethics. My religious beliefs have absolutely nothing to do with the question.
|| Posted by Rhymes With Right, December 7, 2005 05:53 PM ||Post a comment