Village14
Village14.com Newton, Massachusetts' virtual village
2013OCTOBER 24State reviewed complaints about history
curriculum, found no problemsby Gail SpectorAccording to this
letter, the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
investigated and then dismissed claims from a Newton resident Kerry
Hurwitz about NPS 9th and 10th grade history curriculum review
process and instructional materials for the same.The letter doesnt
spell out the nature of the curriculum but it refers to 603 CMR
26.05(2), which states generalizations, lacking intellectual merit,
on the basis of race, color sex, gender identity, religion,
national origin or sexual origin
Hurwitz has been very outspoken about what she sees as
propaganda in Newtons curriculum (Im sure shell correct me if Im
mischaracterizing or oversimplifying her position) as well as other
controversial issues that Im choosing not to link to here. If
Hurwitz is not involved in opennewtonschools.org, she certainly
supports its objectives.
Included in the letter, the DESE specialist states:
The complainant has responded with numerous concerns challenging
the efficacy and outcomes of the curriculum review and material
selection process. However, the subjective determination of the
extent of the effectiveness of the Districts curriculum review
process is not sufficient for the Department to conclude that the
District failed to comply with the requirements of 603 CMR
26.05(2).
It goes on to say
Based on the information gathered, my inquiries indicate that no
violation of education law, regulation or policy has occurred with
regard to the specific concern(s) you have raised.I guess if you
hit a roadblock with the DESE, the next step is to take out ads in
a bunch of newspaper.
121 COMMENTSLisap PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Thanks for sharing the link, Gail, and great sleuthing! I will
say though that I do wish her childs name had been deleted from
this document before it was made public.Charles Jacobs
PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Im confused. Did Mass. DOE conclude that students should learn
that US Astronaut Neil Armstrong converted to Islam, that Jews kill
Arab women in Israeli jails, that Christian students should accept
Islam as revealed scripture, that feminism is a sin, that
Fundamental Judaism is the reason Israelis are in the West Bank,
that Muslims discovered the New World? Etc.
Under the guise of global understanding, we Westerners are the
problem and all other cultures are to be treated uncritically. This
is PC gone curricular. No?
Barry Cohen PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
The letter is pretty unclear as to what it considers would be a
problem. Sometimes things that are objectionable seem right if you
have certain biases.
Lisap, while you are obviously intelligent and often I agree
with your positions, at the time of this controversy, in a sort of
objection to things you said, I explained to you that when, given
all the atrocities committed throughout the world, one chooses to
hold a microscope up to Israel and find some things that may be in
fact unjust and focus on them, this is anti-Semitism.
Christians are being abused throughout the Islamic world and
that part of the world is become Christian-free. For the same
reasons, its alread Jew-free. Now the Moslems are moving into the
liberal democratic west, with our blessings, and using our freedoms
to inject their lies into our society, and we are stupid enough to
let it happen.
At the same time, a segment of Moslem society is committing
atrocious terrorist acts throughout the world, and while the ones
doing it may be in the minority, the majority is supporting it
either directly with money or indirectly with moral support, often
in the form of world-wide demonstrations, like the ones that
permeated the world after 9/11 in support of that act, or after
some rumor started that a Koran was mistreated at Guantanamo, or
that some American had produced and anti-Islamic film, or that some
cartoonist had disrespected Mohammed.
Now, if this is what you or anyone wants to facilitate by
naivete and ignorance, youll look back on these times, when you
could have stopped it, when you are being required to wear a
headscarf if you are a woman or sport a beard if you are a man. It
wont happen tomorrow, but it will happen, if you dont keep your
eyes open and act.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Well, from the letter written by the DESE (Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education), the investigation conducted
under the Code of Massachusetts Regulations Section 603 CMR
26.05(2) found no violation of education law, regulation or policy
has occurred with regard to the specific concerns . . . raised. Of
course, its hard to know exactly what was alleged without access to
the original documents sent to the DESE.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Sorry Barry I didnt see your post before I posted. I want to say
that Ive given a lot of thought to your comment about holding up a
microscope and Ive come to agree with you. On this subject though,
having dealt with the DESE on several occasions, and having
researched their jurisdiction and what they do in terms of quality
control, it surprises me not the least that they dont engage in any
in depth curriculum review in addressing this complaint. The state
provides standards and curriculum frameworks but how that is
implemented as curriculum is really up to the districts. Their
review is very strictly confined to what is set out in the CMRs
described as demeaning generalizations, lacking intellectual merit
and so forth.
Barry Cohen PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Thanks, Lisap,
So you see, by the same token, while it may be possible to find
some Israeli police or soldiers or prison guards who may be too
rough with prisoners, if one makes a point of criticizing Israel
about this in a school curriculum that is discussing Islam and
doesnt talk about all the horrendous thinks done by followers of
Islam, in the name of Islam, to totally innocent people, then one
is being extremely biased. So, while a committee may be convinced
that what was covered was not false or very false, its the
exaggeration of the seriousness of the accusations, together with
omission of a host of other things, that is the problem here.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Gail-why did you publish this letter with a minors name on it? I
would have to believe this letter with the minors name on it was
given to you by either the NPS, a school committee member or the
DOE-either way it is unethical and a violation of privacy
laws.Janet Sterman PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Perhaps because it wasnt her kids name me on it?
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 24, 2013
Joanne Its a public document. It was neither unethical nor a
violation of privacy laws for me to publish it.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
Gail,
Hold on a second there student records are exempt from
disclosure under the public records law. This document references a
complaint about educational services provided to a specific student
expressly named in this document. The DESE has jurisdiction to
investigate complaints about students educational rights and the
legal requirements for education. They do not accept complaints
from third parties pertaining to a specific student without the
consent of the parent because, as stated by DESE, Federal and state
laws require the Department and school districts to keep education
records about students confidential unless the students parent has
given permission (also known as consent) to let someone else have
access to them. Federal law defines education records as meaning
those records that are:
(1) Directly related to a student; and
(2) Maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a
party acting for the agency or institution.
Also, according to DESEs summary of laws and regulations
pertaining to student records: The regulations apply to all
information kept by a school or school district on a student in a
way that the student may be individually identified.Im not as
confident as you are that this qualifies as a public record and not
a student record. I may be wrong but I dont think its clear
cut.Joanne PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
Lisa P I agree with you . It did not seem right to me either.
And assuming that the Parent did not release this letter to Gail it
would either have been the Superintendent or the Asst
Superintendent who were cced on the letter. So wouldnt that mean
that they violated the law by giving this letter to Gail/Village 14
blog??Lisap PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
Joanne,
Well, theres a big Received stamp on the document. The lettering
on the rest of the stamp is somewhat difficult to make out, but it
appears that there are the right number of words and letters to say
Newton Public Schools and then Superintendents Office beneath that.
Perhaps Gail can clarify what the stamp actually says.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
I would hope that the Superintendent of the Newton Public
Schools is not giving out confidential and private correspondance
that relates to a student enrolled in the NPS. That would clearly
violate Federal Privacy Laws. The document clearly lists the Parent
and Students name.
Paul M Jones PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
Can anyone point me in the direction of the offending
materials?
Joanne PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
If you look at the Blog Posting it is under According to this
letter- if you click on this letter you will find the letter that
was sent to a parent, lists her daughters name and was cced to the
Superintendent and Asst Superintendent. Lisap PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
@Paul,
Go up to the beginning of Gails post and click on where it says
this letter. The words are in blue and theres a hyper-link right
there that will automatically take you to the document.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
@Joanne cross post! :)
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
This is Kerry, Id like to clarify a few things. First, Id like
to know how Gail obtained the letter. I try to keep my name and
certainly my childrens names out of the limelight as my family was
previously threatened by an online stalker due to my pro-Israel
views. The incident required police involvement and I was told not
to allow my name to appear publicly with respect to pro-Israel
activities. So thanks, Gail, for endangering my children.
If for some reason you havent received my message by the time
you read this, I expect the letter to be removed immediately. Its
fine to make the content publicly available.
It also would have been nice had you let me know you were
publishing an article with my actions as the primary focus. I had
no idea that you wrote about this and would never had known had
another parent not contacted me about it. Believe it or not, not
everyone finds this blog fascinating and there are many people who
(gasp!) dont read it. Letting someone know that you are publishing
information about them is just ordinary courtesy.
With respect to the complaint, it concerned inaccurate and
biased material, anti-Israel material, distributed in some high
school history courses. It was not about pro-Muslim bias. The
materials cited include portions of the textbooks for both 9th and
10th grade World History classes, the book A Muslim Primer, the
film The Hajj, the Arab World Studies Notebook, and the website
Flashpoints. The latter two were removed from Newton schools at my
behest.
The complaint also stated that students are required to study
religion in violation of the 1st Amendment (in one class, students
were required to memorize all twelve steps of the Hajj and other
detailed religious facts, and the teacher wrote about about
Muhammads visit from Angel Gabriel and conversations with Allah as
if they were established facts), that the NPS refused to allow
parents to view the curriculum without resorting to expensive and
burdensome public records request, that administrators refused to
speak with parents about their concerns (we were explicitly told
that the NPS would refuse to investigate or take any action
regarding our concerns, and that if I didnt like it I should find
another school), and that the NPS prevents parents from discussing
curriculum concerns with teachers (I was told by both the
administrators and teachers that I could not do this).
Additional statements included that the NPS unreasonably used
school funds, grounds, and teacher time to present an inaccurate
and politically charged professional development program taught by
an avowed anti-Israel activist (its believed that this is how the
Arab World Studies Notebook was introduced to Newton teachers) and
that the NPS retaliated against me for bringing this to their
attention (I was told that I could not have a parent-teacher
conference unless an administrator was present).
The DOE refused to take action on any of these issues except for
the issue of potentially biased material. The standard needed to
show bias is extremely high, probably the highest of any state.
According to the Specialist I spoke with, the DOE can ONLY take
action against material that contains simplistic and demeaning
generalizations, lacking intellectual merit, on the basis of race,
color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual
orientation and if activities, discussions, and/or supplementary
materials [do not] provide balance and context for any such
stereotypes depicted in such materials. Unfortunately we did not
have sufficient evidence to meet that standard, and so the
complaint was dismissed.
With respect to other items mentioned in the article, I have
nothing to do with Open Newton Schools and disagree with their
methods. In fact, Charles Jacobs has gone so far as to deny access
to material which supported the complaint, and which may have made
a difference in the result. So Gail, if you would like to take out
several newspaper ads to mimic ONS, go right ahead, you will not be
offending me in the slightest.
By the way, Im still waiting for naysayers to tell me why they
defend teaching students the false and antisemitic claim that
Israelis routinely torture and murder Arab women, why Newton
schools use material containing the ridiculous claim that the
Catholic church is reconsidering polygamy as a Christian option,
and why students are watching a film which tells them that rabbis
and priests prevent their congregants from having a personal
relationship with God.
We all want whats best for students and to empower teachers to
support that belief. I agree that in many respects, Newton schools
are truly excellent. However the use, even unwittingly, of biased
and inaccurate anti-Israel material is a fact that will not go
away. I am not trying to trash the Newton schools (indeed I would
be foolish to try, as my children attend these schools along with
yours). I am not trying to get teachers in trouble (I have
specifically stated that there is no one person to blame, and also
pointed out as Superintendent Fleishman has not that the
objectionable materials were introduced before he arrived in
Newton). All I want is for the schools not to dismiss the situation
and speak about it with concerned citizens. It was only after the
NPS repeatedly refused to do this, told us explicitly that they
would never speak with us, refused to let me discuss the issue with
my childs teacher, and retaliated against me for raising the
subject that the matter went public.
And just so its known, much of what is claimed in the Tab
article linked to above it false. The reporter, Chloe Gotsis,
admitted in the the Tabs own blogs that she essentially made up the
charge that residents hurled accusations of antisemitism at school
officials. What had actually happened, as she admits, is that a
Newton resident a Holocaust-era survivor whose entire family was
murdered stated that the indoctrination and intimidation she saw
reminded her of her childhood in Nazi Germany. Thats all. No
yelling, no shouting. Of course, to claim that the above statement
is a hurled accusation of antisemitism is ludicrous. But thats what
happens when one puts politics above truth. (The editor, who
defended the outrageous accusation, promised several times to
publish a statement of correction but never did).
I dont have time to write any more; I hope this gives some
insight into the realities of the situation.
Day Mom PERMALINK
October 25, 2013
For what its worth, I was told by my history-buff junior that
not one item mentioned in the long comment above actually occurred
in history class.
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
There are a couple of more (large) inaccuracies in the blog
which need correction. My focus is not on propaganda in Newton
schools Im not even sure what that means (propaganda from who? in
what form? saying what?).
My concerns pertain to inaccuracy and bias in some material used
in Newton high school World History classes. (Ive also been
informed that there are problems with materials used in the course
European History, but I havent looked at those). If you had
bothered to take even a quick look at the website of the
organization I founded last year, Parents for Excellence in Newton
Schools (PENS), http://www.newtonexcellence.org, or to listen to
what I said during the two times I spoke at the School Committees
public comment session, Gail, you would know this.
By the way, these are the ONLY times I have ever spoken publicly
about this issue. I did not say anything about propaganda in either
instance and the PENS website does not mention propaganda either.
So where did you get the completely false idea that my activities
are aimed at uncovering some mysterious type propaganda? The only
thing I can think of is that you just made it up. Im sure you will
tell me if you dont agree.
Id also like to know what other controversial issues I am
involved with, as Im not aware of any.
With respect to Open Newton Schools, I am not just saying I am
not involved with them, I am not involved with them at all. Im sure
Charles Jacobs will confirm this.
Again, I would appreciate your taking down inaccuracies about
me. I do appreciate that you removed the letter with my childs name
on it.
The fact is that some materials used in high school history
courses are inappropriate for student or any other use. This has
been confirmed by the fact that the Arab World Studies Notebook,
which has the distinction of being exorcised by both left-wing AND
right-wing groups, was removed from the schools. (Other districts
in Alaska and Oklahoma have done the same). The Newton North
library also confirmed that the website Flashpoints should not have
been on a list of recommended resources (the library explained that
the website had changed hands since the list of made), and were
actually appreciative that I pointed it out to them.
Unfortunately, other inappropriate material remains. Here is a
short list from only two classes we looked at:
1. A section of the book A Muslim Primer distributed to Newton
states that the Catholic church is reconsidering polygamy as a
Christian option. Elsewhere in that section, entitled The Status of
Women:, a lenghy discussion of the status of females under Islamic
law completely omits that such law allows girls to be married at
the age of nine, and never mentions that some version of this law
is in effect in many Islamic nations, which either allows girls to
marry at age fifteen or younger or have no age limit at all.
The section also states without citation that two-thirds of all
women in pre-islamic Arabia were slaves and that females were
scantily attired and often topless. These claims have no support
from archeological research and rejected by most historians.
Elsewhere, the book cites approvingly a book which claims that
the late astronaut Neal Armstrong had converted to Islam but
prevented from revealing his new identity by government agents and
describes Irans Ayatollah Khomeini only as a brilliant Shiite
theologian.
The book misstates population figures by 300%, incorrectly
reporting that Muslims are vastly more numerous than is the
case.
2. The film The Hajj also inflates population figures in a
similar manner and tells students that role played by rabbis and
priests prevents congregants from speaking directly with God.3. An
outline of the Arab-Israeli conflict is not only ten years old but
was also created under the supervision of an avowedly anti-Israel
activist. Its numerous inaccuracies and omissions include the
omission that Jews were the majority religion in Jerusalem for the
past 150 years and an instance where the outlines writer
unabashedly changes the meaning of a U.N. Resolution.
There are numerous other problems with materials, the above is
only a small sample.
With respect to DayMoms report that her son was not aware of
biased material in his class, please remember that not all classes
contained the objectionable. The fact that your son may have had a
good experience in history class does not mean that others will
also have a good experience. You might remember as well that
16-year olds do not have the knowledge to critique the very
material they are studying.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
Actually Kerry your letter is still there on the link and still
contains your daughters name.
Day Mom PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
Yes, Kerrys childs name is still on the linked document.
Village14 editors, please replace the letter with a copy with the
childs name redacted. It is the right thing to do.
Kerry, I agree that different classes have different
discussions, and that what occurred in my childs class could well
have been different from what occurred in your childs class. With
respect to my child -I did not specify son or daughter I can assure
you that s/he has pointed out my own political biases quite
correctly. ;-)
A couple if questions : (1) you mention that the book A Muslim
Primer was distributed to Newton. Are you saying this was
distributed to Newton schoolchildren? If so, can you specify when
and where and roughly how many? (2) Do you know when, and in how
many different classes, the film the Hajj was shown, and also how
it was used as a basis for discussion?
Joanne PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
I am not a lawyer however looking at the regulations surrounding
this issue it seems to me that you are in your rights to file a
complaint with the NPS and the DESE for the unauthorized release of
that letter as your childs record is supposed to be held in
confidence because of privacy laws. The NPS could face sanctions of
federal funds for having released this letter. That and the fact
that the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent is in violation
of privacy laws for giving this letter to the Village 14 Blog.
Geoff Epstein PERMALINKOctober 26, 2013
Just a note in all of this ruckus which is nonetheless very
serious.
A copy of the letter linked at the top of this thread was sent
to SC members in confidence on Thursday, October 24. The
confidentiality proviso in the communication was the standard
one.
Notice of Confidentiality: This transmission is intended for the
addressee(s) listed above and may contain information that is
confidential and private. If you are not the addressee(s), any use,
disclosure, copying or communication of the contents of this
transmission is prohibited. If this communication was received in
error, contact me immediately at 617-559-6100. Thank you for your
cooperation.
Transmission of this letter to Village 14 is a breech of
confidentiality and appears to implicate at least one School
Committee member.
I suggest that Village 14 contact David Fleishman and let him
know the source of the letter so he can bring that back to the
School Committee and it can be dealt with.Under no circumstances,
should a students name or that of their parent who filed a
complaint be released to the media by a sitting School Committee
member.Joanne PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also
known as the Buckley
Amendment, is a four-part act that gives parents and students
who have reached the age of
majority the right to review and inspect school records. Part
one of the Buckley Amendment
states that school districts receiving federal funds must comply
with FERPA or risk losing their funding. Part two states that
schools must receive parental consent before evaluating or
admitting students in school programs that would change their
values or behavior. Part three addresses federal funding and denies
such funds to schools that do not restrict unauthorized access to
student information and protect the privacy of their records.
Finally, part four protects children who are being used to gather
data for federal surveys (FERPA, 1974).
FERPA applies to all educational records that are defined as any
personally identifiable record collected, maintained, or used by a
school that the student has attended. Personal logs, treatment
records, and directory information, however, are exceptions to the
above act. The above mentioned are excluded for the following
reasons: Personal logs are records of instructional, supervisory,
administrative, and associated educational personnel that are the
sole possession of the individual and have not been shared with any
other peer or
professional. Treatment records are records of a physician,
psychiatrist, psychologist, or other
recognized professional acting in his or her role as a
professional and used only in connection with the treatment of the
student. Directory information are records that include the
students demographic information, grade or field of study,
participation in extracurricular activities, physical descriptions,
and dates of attendance (FERPA, 1974; Underwood & Mead,
1995).
School records may not be released without the consent of the
parents and written consent
must be obtained for special education students. Schools must
inform the parents before a
disclosure of student information. (See table, Consent
Exceptions.) Additionally, Parents have the right to challenge the
information contained in the records if they believe it to be
inaccurate or misleading. The school must provide an opportunity
for a hearing if they disagree or refuse to alter the record.
Amendments to the FERPA regulations (1974) were made in response to
the passage of the Improving Americas School Act (1994). The
following is a summary of these changes. First, the new changes
give educational agencies greater flexibility by removing a
previous regulatory provision requiring schools to adopt a formal,
written, student-records policy.
Instead, the school may include additional information in the
annual notification of rights. A
model notification is included in the appendix of the
regulations. Second, state educational
agencies must afford parents and eligible students access to
education records that they
maintain. Third, the amendments clarify that an educational
agency or institution initiating
legal action against a parent or eligible student must make a
reasonable effort to notify, in
advance, the parent or student of its intent to disclose the
information from education records to a court of law. Fourth, FERPA
was amended so that a school is not required to notify a parent or
eligible student before complying with certain subpoenas if the
court has ordered notification not be made. Fifth, FERPA was
amended to allow disclosures of education records, without prior
consent, to certain state and local officials, pursuant to a State
statute that allows the disclosure in connection with a juvenile
justice system. Sixth, the amendments clarify that an educational
agency may include information in a students education records
concerning disciplinary action taken against a student for conduct
that posed a significant risk to that student or other members of
the school community. Seventh, in connection with the previous
amendment, clarification was made that an educational agency may
disclose information without prior consent to those who have
legitimate educational interests in the behavior of the
student.
Eighth, if a third party discloses information in violation of
FERPA, that agency is prohibited from accessing education records
for a period of not less than 5 years. Finally, the amendments
clarify that a person filling a complaint under FERPA must have
legal standing, that is must be a parent of an eligible student
affected by the violation (AACRAO Government Relations, 1999).
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
Note to all: The students name and address have been redacted
from the letter.
lisap PERMALINK
October 26, 2013
Gail, regrettably I think that is too little too late.
@Geoff Epstein, thank you for your very candid comments. This is
a truly deplorable situation. It is patently obvious from the
received stamp that the source of this document was one of two
parties: NPS or the parent. It is absolutely chilling to know that
there is so little regard in this district for student privacy, and
that a document such as this may be shared with the local press and
become fodder for our local blogs. This is deeply shameful and
smacks of retaliation. Reasonable adults may differ as to issues
but to bring a child into a public dispute such as this is shameful
and unconscionable.Joanne PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
The damage has already been done. Three days later is a little
too late. Whoever gave this letter to the village blog and the tab
violated state and federal laws and if it was as is suspected a
sitting school committee member they should be removed from public
office immediately. If it was someone from central administration
they should be fired. I hope the parent files a formal complaint on
Monday. Everyone with Kids in the Newton schools should be calling
the Mayors office on Monday asking for a full investigation.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Here goes:
A parent filed a complaint with the Department of Secondary and
Elementary Education about the curriculum being taught in her
daughters history classes. The state took the complaint seriously,
investigated, responded to the parent and copied the NPS
superintendents office. And you all are focusing on who released
the letter? Really? What about the states response, folks?
Regardless, the letter is public. It is not a student record.
The parent filed a public complaint. This was not a confidential
matter. Imagine the situation reversed. Please stop and think about
this for a moment: Would you have preferred that the state
determine that the curriculum was, in fact, biased and that our
children are being taught that the Holocaust never happened but we
never learn about it because the document is private?? School
Committee member Geoff Epstein: Would you like to go on the record
saying that you want investigations into our curriculum to be
private? Come on! I dont believe the Massachusetts State Publics
Records Law states the documents are public only when viewers of
said documents agree with them (or when viewers have no other
points to prove).
About the disclaimer to which Geoff mentioned, I refer you to
this phrase: This transmission is intended for the addressee(s)
listed above and may contain information that is confidential and
private.
Just wondering, Geoff: Do you often see that disclaimer on email
from the superintendents office? It sounds like a standard
disclaimer to me. Standard enough that Ive seen it dozens of times
on email coming from a wide range of elected officials.
Im not spending the day discussing this. This is among the most
ridiculous arguments Ive seen on a Newton blog, and Ive seen many.
Id ask you all to think about your agendas.I am stepping off my
platform now. Id much rather enjoy this beautiful fall day.
Hoss PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail I agree w everything you said (see exception). Elected
officials are our eyes and ears with emphasis on OUR thus we should
see what they see (outside a closed mtg).
Exception: The Superintendents office should have redacted the
students name prior to sending it to elected officials. I didnt see
the name until it was brought up the format of the letter template
is right aligned except for the name/case number. Perhaps the
administrative office didnt see it.
Hoss PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Hmmm Make that left-aligned.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
So Gail have you contacted the Superintendent as requested by
Geoff Epstein to let Dr. Fleischman know who breached a students
Confidentiality? This is a violation of State and Federal laws the
person that leaked this information needs to resign immediately if
found to be someone on the School Committee or if an employee of
the NPS fired tomorrow AM. Most likely since this letter was
emailed on the 24th to the SC we are lead to believe that it was a
member of the SC.
It is amazing to me that you were a former editor of a Newspaper
and you should at the very minimum have understood what you did was
Beyond wrong. Did you not learn about Privacy Laws in Journalism
class or did as we can only suspect your BFF friendship with a SC
member out ways violating Privacy Laws? Did you realize that you
and whoever leaked this letter have now jeopardized Federal funding
to the NPS?Joanne PERMALINK
October 27, 2013Gail the information about what the state found
could have been released with the Parents or Childs
information.Maybe the Question we should be asking is What is your
agenda or what the is the Agenda of the SC member that released it
to you?
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Im not surprised if Joanne doesnt cant comprehend the states
public records laws. But Im distressed hat an elected member of the
Newton School Committee doesnt.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
So Greg why dont you enlighten me since I am too stupid to
comprehend that Gail Spector posting a letter on line that was in a
students record was wrong.
I posted about the Laws The Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974, also known as the Buckley Amendment- Maybe you
can tell me since I obviously need help understanding how that does
not apply in this case.
What actually distresses me and I am sure many parents in the
Newton Public Schools that either a School Committee Member or an
Employee of the Newton Public Schools breached a Students
Confidentiality.
lisap PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail, when parents complain to the DESE they are required to
copy the school district. The district is a necessary party.
Procedurally this is not unlike a complaint for a due process
hearing under special education law. There it is quintessentially
clear that the matter relates to a particular student and,
likewise, this complaint addressed a particular individual student.
Whether the decision pertains to a matter of public import is of no
matter to whether this document is a student record. With all due
respect, on the question whether this is a student record, I
believe you are flat out wrong on that. This document and this
investigation pertained to a particular individual and meets the
broad definition of a student record. These documents are not
published by the DESE, and they are sent only to the parties
involved, and I trust you know that student records are by law not
public records. At the moment this reflects extremely badly upon
the superintendents office as well as the school committee as a
whole and the member who was your source.Hoss PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Joanne The letter disclosed nothing about the student except her
relation to a mother that filed a complaint. The only reason for it
to be placed in a students record is for easy retrieval.
lisap PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Greg, what do you not comprehend about the concept that student
records are excepted from public records law? And, what makes you
and Gail experts in what us or is not a student record? Are you
relying on some super secret guide only available to you two?
Hoss PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
lisap How is it quintessentially clear that the matter relates
to a particular student? A resident objected to school material and
the only way to do a formal objection was to reference a student.
That speaks nothing about the student.
Look at it this way if I had a grievance about my wifes
employer, wouldnt you be distressed is that grievance ended up in
her personnel file? The student record is about the student, not
the parent.
Ted Hess-Mahan PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail, the identity of students in the public schools is
protected by federal and state laws and may only be disclosed to
third parties under certain very limited circumstances. As an
attorney, I have filed complaints in state and federal courts on
behalf of students and their parents and in every instance, the
name of John Doe or Jane Doe is substituted for a minor students
name for that very reason, and in some cases the records themselves
are impounded. While the complaint is a public record, the students
identity is not. As a parent, I would be horrified if a complaint I
filed with DESE/Program Quality Assurance Services on behalf of my
minor child regarding the quality of educational services provided
to him/her were publicly disclosed without my permission.
Put yourself in the shoes of the parent whose child may be
subjected to ridicule or retaliation because his or her name has
been publicly disclosed in connection with this issue. For that
matter, put yourself in that childs position. How many of us would
want ourselves or our children to be involuntarily subjected to
such notoriety on this or any other controversial issue?
The merits of the complaint aside, I think you are dead wrong on
this one, and so is the person(s) who disclosed the letter to you
without the parents permission, on moral if not legal grounds. You
should both apologize to Kerry Hurwitz and her son/daughter.Joanne
PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Thanks Ted. Can you kindly bring this forward to the Mayor and
Superintendent to investigate this matter fully? This breach of
confidentiality either had to come from the Superintendents office,
Assistant Superintendents office or a SC member in any event none
of them had the right to send this to Gail Spector or to anyone for
that matter. Whose childs record will be breached next?
lisap PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
@Hoss, yes the student record pertains to the student and not
the parent, but the parent acts on the students behalf to complain
about the program her own child is receiving from the school
district. The parent cannot complain on behalf of all children in
the district. The district is given an opportunity to respond to
the parents claim that her child is not receiving the legally
mandated education she is due. The DESE then responds and makes a
determination whether the district has violated the legal rights of
the particular student.
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Ted has this exactly correct. The key point is disclosure of the
student name.
I am sure that if the SC member involved here had checked with
the Superintendent before passing this on, the student name would
have been redacted at the very least.
I have no problem with us knowing what complaints have been
filed and the outcomes, but everyone should have a real problem
with releasing student information.
The correct protocol here would have been for the SC member to
request from the Superintendent that a copy of the document be
prepared for public consumption.
Then the Superintendent would have had the redaction done,
forwarded the adjusted document to the SC member, then it would
have gone to Village 14 and that would have been fine.
Whenever, I get a transmission from the Superintendent, it has
the standard confidentiality footer and I pay special attention to
the content if there might be a need to forward the
communication.
We cannot be casual about this and every SC member owes it to
our community to be very careful with private information.
I would not be surprised if David Fleishman does a bit of
checking here and does some SC knuckle rapping.
It is possible that the disclosure of the student name could
result in a law suit.Its just plain avoidable with some common
sense and responsible behavior!
Charles Jacobs PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
It sounds here as if the State Dept. of Secondary Education
actually investigated what was in our ad and concluded that there
were no legal or policy problems. But its more likely that the
State educational bureaucracy did exactly what the Newton School
Committee is doing: circle the wagons and dig in deeper.
What sort of investigation could the State have done if it
failed to discover the Saudi-Harvard-Newton connection?
Or are we to believe that the State Ed. bureaucrats think it was
fine for Newton teachers to accept and bring into the classroom
hateful, Saudi-funded anti-Semitic materials obtained from a
program at Harvard that was run by Paul Beran, an anti-Israel
activist? Heres what happened:
Beran, the director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Outreach Center has a history of well-documented anti-Israel bias,
and advocates for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
campaign against Israel. At the 2005 conference at Harvard
University Beran promoted constructing long-term networks of broad
based support for action [BDS] and bragged about partnering with
the radical anti-Israel group Jewish Voices For Peace (JVP), an
organization that the ADL names as one of the top 10 anti-Israel
groups in the country.
Newton teachers were innocent victims here.
Not so, Superintendent Fleischman, who tried and is still trying
to cover up the scandal. Fleischman finally responded to our
complaints by characterizing the most obvious and hurtful lie
contained in the Saudi material, viz., that Jews in Israel kill
Arab women in jails, as clearly marked bias in a lesson designed to
teach critical thinking. This is preposterous on its face: Such a
charge against the Jews can only honestly be represented as a lie,
purposely spewed to do harm to Jewish people. It is NOT simply a
biased point of view. If Palestinians actually thought it were
true, surely that believe would have found outlets in the New York
Times, CNN, etc. Its not truly a belief, as Fleichman contends. Its
a lie.
Teachers could legitimately use that material only in a context
of showing what hate propaganda against Jews looks like, and how it
can be embedded in the classrooms of innocent teachers and
children.
Further, are we now to believe that the Mass Department of
Secondary Education deems it unobjectionable that public school
students in Newton learn that the New World was discovered by
Muslims, that American Astronauts converted to Islam but were told
by NASA to keep it quiet, and that Christian students should accept
Islamic texts as revealed?
This is inconceivable. So let us all stop considering that State
Report as evidence that in any way should diminish the concerns we
raised in the ads.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Nice backpeddling Geoff. I like how this has gone from being a
discussion about whether this is a public record to being a
discussion about how the public record should have been edited
before it was released to the public.
@Ted: If the identity of students in the public schools is
protected by federal and state laws and may only be disclosed to
third parties under certain very limited circumstances, why was the
Newton TAB able to obtain under FERPA from the Newton Public
Schools a database of all students with their addresses and phone
numbers (disclaimer: I think phone numbers were on there but I
wouldnt swear to it).
@Lisap: Journalists Greg and myself included attend a lot of
seminars on public records law. Chrissie Long, a stellar TAB
reporter who may predate your interest in Newton issues (I mean no
offense, I just dont remember your name from back then), learned a
lot about student records and what was and was not public, and she
brought that knowledge back to the newsroom. Thats where the FERPA
request came from.lisap PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail, the law is constantly changing and being interpreted.
Surely you know that. Relying on second hand info from a reporter
you worked with some years ago? Highly unreliable source. With all
due respect, this is a student record which ought never to have
been released to you.
Charles, the Program Quality Assurance division tends to deal
mostly with compliance with state regulations. Thus review of
curricular matters is exceedingly narrow. They review whether the
district complies with requirements that all IEPs be signed,
whether the district obtains parent signatures at team meetings
when a teacher seeks to be excused, etc. These matters generally
relate to procedural protections and not substantively on the
quality of the programming. To the extent the materials are
reviewed, it is in a very limited context.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
I wonder how we know for certain that a School Committee member
released this letter? (And I ask that with no knowledge of where it
came from.)
More importantly, lets acknowledge that releasing this
information was a great public service (even if it was a mistake to
release the name).
Joanne PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
So Greg it was either the Superintendent or Asst Superintendent
that were cced on the letter, a NPS staff person working in their
office, an employee of the DESE or since we know based on what
Geoff Epstein blogged all SC member received the letter on the
24th. It could have also been the Mother. Those should have been
the only people that had access to this confidential letter.If I
was a betting person I would bet that it was a SC member that is
BFF with Gail Spector that released the letter to her to help
balance the Ads that were talking about the History Curriculum in
the NPS.
The fact that you think violating laws to post this letter was a
great public service is very sad indeed.
lisap PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Greg, the fact that the letter has a big fact received and what
looks like Newton Public Schools and Superintendents Office narrows
the field quite a bit. The document was received last month. The
day after these ads appeared the Sup emailed this to the school
committee and within 24 hours it was on your blog. Elementary my
dear Watson, circumstantial but elementary.fignewtonville
PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail/Greg: Regardless of whether it was required to be redacted
or not, I agree with the others that it should not have been
included. I dont think there was bad intent on your part, and I
think the public filing makes this outside of the rules mentioned
by Ted, but it was unnecessary and could have easily been fixed
with a little black marker. The name added nothing to the
story.
This is a volunteer blog and I dont hold you to the standards of
the Tab or the Globe. But it did strike me as unfair to the
student.
And Greg, the disclosure does distract from the letter, so on
that basis alone a mistake was made.
Hoss PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
lisap The SC consists of a Superintendent and a Mayor so I take
it they are each suspects? From my take, if an elected official
sent it good on them. We are beyond the old days where we got no
information, not for sake of privacy but because everyone rallied
around City Hall.
Ted Hess-Mahan PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail, the Mass. regs. allow limited third party disclosure of
certain information
A school may release the following directory information: a
students name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth,
major field of study, dates of attendance, weight and height of
members of athletic teams, class, participation in officially
recognized activities and sports, degrees, honors and awards, and
post-high school plans without the consent of the eligible student
or parent; provided that the school gives public notice of the
types of information it may release under 603 CMR 23.07 and allows
eligible students and parents a reasonable time after such notice
to request that this information not be released without the prior
consent of the eligible student or parent.
So general information may be disclosed, but, significantly,
parents are still given an opportunity to opt out. That is NOT the
same as releasing identifying info about a student and a specific
complaint about educational services provided to THAT student. If I
file a complaint on behalf of my son or daughter because the
schools are violating state or federal special education law or
other educational laws, that is no one elses business but my
familys. I am astonished you do not know the difference.
Ironically, NPS imposes gag orders on parents of special needs
students as part of settlements regarding special education
services and placements provided. Apparently it is alright for the
schools to keep some things private and not others. What was done
here to Kerry Hurwitz and her son or daughter was not right.Geoff
Epstein PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Again Ted has it exactly correct.
Barry Cohen PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Why did the mayor (Cohen), the superintendent (Jeff whatever)
and the School Committee at the time decide that there was no basis
to reveal what happened after the NNHS principal Jennifer Price
harassed, with the help of the Newton police, that black kid who
wasnt even a student, but an ex-student, at a NNHS football game.
That was covered up pretty quickly. What they want to release they
release. What will embarrass them, they conceal.
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Gail,
Did the document you posted come from a School Committee member
or a member of the NPS administration or staff?
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Barry, when you get a chance can you drop me a line at
[email protected]? (Its a forwarding address and doesnt
reveal my IP or another personal information). Thanks.
Greer Tan Swiston PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Sharing the findings was a service. Citing peoples names and
addresses especially that of a child was wrong.Raising a hoopla on
this discussion list until that wrong was corrected has also been a
public service.
I dont know how one can fix such a breach of privacy. It seems
an ongoing tension between private citizens and media. While media
tries to push the boundaries of privacy, it requires the people to
push back. In this case, I side with those who feel Kerry Hurwitz
and her child were wronged and outed unnecessarily. It would NOT
have diluted the impact of the letter or the findings to have kept
that information out.
Further discussion on the issues around our schools History
curriculum would also be a service. Thank you for bringing these
findings to our attention and into the whole conversation.
Ruth PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
The original letter including the name and address is still
visible on scribd.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Ruth Its been removed.Sallee Lipshutz PERMALINK
October 27, 2013
Were I a moderator on this blog, I would immediately (and I mean
this minute) redact all mention of the parents and childs name,
instead of perpetuating the abuse that has already occurred to that
particular familys right to privacy. I would not remove the
references to the content and would hope that the direction of the
discussion of the 16 people who have participated before me in
their 59 comments would return to the content and context of the
posting.
fignewtonville PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
One final point here for me on this topic.
This is a volunteer blog. As far as I know Gail and Greg and
others make no money on this blog. And I really have enjoyed
posting over the years, and hope to keep posting here for years to
come. Folks should keep the nature of the blog in context. This is
not the Tab blog. Same folks, but vastly different in my view.
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Gail,
Gail, you did not completely retract the letter as I requested
and also posted it on Scribd. You didnt take down the Scribd letter
until you were told to do so. You never even bothered to inform me
that you had written about me, and of course you would never inform
me that you had posted private, legally protected information about
my child on your blog and on Scribd.
Had it not been for the actions of another parent who contacted
me, I would never have known about any of this.
You obviously have no regard for my familys privacy or safety,
and am sure you have no respect for anyone elses rights as
well.
You no longer have my permission to use any part of the letter
or its contents, and you are to remove it immediately. You are also
to remove immediately remove any writing, on any platform, that
makes use of what is contained in the letter. That means this blog
post and all comments. You are also to refrain from discussing the
letter or its contents with anyone.
You are to do this immediately.
You are a real piece of work, Gail. You should be ashamed of
yourself, but I have no doubt your massive ego and complete
disregard for the effects of your actions on others will allow it.
Your behavior and actions are truly sickening.
You must also reveal how you obtained the letter. You have my
email address and can let me know in that manner.
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Id like to thank all the people on this blog who were concerned
about my familys privacy and safety, and for the privacy and safety
of all students. I very much appreciate your concern.
I also look forward to discussing what should have been the
subject of this post the very real issues with some of the material
used in high school history courses. Its unfortunate that weve been
distracted by the privacy violations committed by Gail (perhaps
that was the point). I have a lot to say about the matter and will
post later today, under the blog Group launches campaign (Oct.
23rd).
Joanne PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Actually in reality the Privacy Violations were committed by
whoever gave Gail that information. I highly suggest that you get
call the NPS superintendent and make sure that your childs
information is no longer emailed out. His office needs to figure
out who violated the law.
If they dont comply I would highly urge you to get legal
counsel.
Janet Sterman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Im not surprised if Gail and Greg cant comprehend the value of
privacy as they have spent their careers exposing private matters
(coupled with their nasty opinions) in trade for advertising
dollars. State and federal laws exist to protect the privacy laws
of individuals against corporations, public authorities and social
lynchings.
Isnt it the role of elected officials to protect their
constituencies, not to make an example of their personal agendas
and opinions?
Demonizing the complainants is offensive to the very core.
Blaming the any member of the Newton School Committee for your
actions is about as low as it gets when defending your actions,
Gail. Please go and enjoy this beautiful day.
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Even if Gail herself did not break any laws, there is certainly
a cause of action for invasion of privacy against her. Morally, of
course, her actions are repugnant but what one would expect from a
Tab editor (the Tab being the paper that, when an elderly
Holocaust-era survivor said that the intimidation and
indoctrination she saw in Newton reminded her of her childhood in
pre-Nazi Germany, reported her sentiments as a hurled accusation of
antisemitism towards School Committee members. The current Tab
editor, Emily Costello, not only defended the reporting, she
reneged on repeated promises to issue a correction).
We shouldnt even be having this discussion. Gail, youve been
asked to remove this post. Why do you refuse to do so? Are you
deliberately trying to put children in harms way?
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
I just read Gregs comment that unlawfully publishing the letter
was a great public service. Does he not understand that my family
was threatened by a stalker and releasing this private information
puts my children at risk? Apparently its fine with Gail and Greg if
my children are maimed or killed as a result of this great public
service.
They couldnt care less. Its not their children at risk; it
doesnt matter what happens to anyone elses family.
Words cannot express how sickened I am.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Kerry Hire an Education Lawyer- what they have done to your
family is wrong. If the person that leaked this is a NPS employee
they should be fired today if it is a SC member as suspected they
should submit their resignation Today.
The Mayor and the Superintendent need to deal with this
TODAY.
It could be any one of our children in the NPS whose information
was breached. They broke the LAW.
Greg Reibman PERMALINKOctober 28, 2013Sallee:
Were I a moderator on this blog, I would immediately (and I mean
this minute) redact all mention of the parents and childs name,
instead of perpetuating the abuse that has already occurred to that
particular familys right to privacy. I would not remove the
references to the content and would hope that the direction of the
discussion of the 16 people who have participated before me in
their 59 comments would return to the content and context of the
posting.
Unless Im missing something the childs name only appeared on the
now-redacted document, never on this blog itself.
Meanwhile, the parent has openly participated in this discussion
and has shared her concerns about the overall issue at hand many
times, including at School Committee meetings and, if Im not
mistaken, in The TAB.
So Im not seeing why the parents name should be redacted from a
conversation she has been so closely and publicly connected to.
Im glad that most participants here recognize the value of
keeping the findings of the investigation public. As Gail had noted
earlier, what if the ruling had gone the other way and the state
found fault with the school curriculum? Would the same people who
are suggesting that this report had never been made public still
feel that way?
As someone who had no stake in this issue going into it, Im glad
I had a chance to read the contents of that letter. Id be
interested in hearing any logic-based arguments as to why this
decision should have been kept secret.
Joanne PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Greg the problem is not with the finding of the DESE it is with
releasing the letter from with the Students name on it. The problem
is with whoever released this Confidential Document to Gail. They
could have told her the same information without revealing who had
requested the investigation or releasing the letter.
Twist it as you wish your informant still broke the law.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
@Joanne: I was addressing the people, including the parent
involved, who are suggesting that the contents of the letter should
never have been made public.
Janet Sterman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Who is GSSWriter who uploaded the letter to Scribd. If the
Village 14 Blog is addressed with legal action on this privacy
threat, the source of this Scribd document and its likely
association to Gail S. Spectors posting on this blog will come into
play.
Question to Spector, how did you get your hands on this private
document sent to Kerry Hurwitz with copies sent to David Fleishman
and Cynthia Bergan, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent,
respectively, to the Newton Public Schools? Why socially lynch Ms.
Hurwitz using it as evidence on an altogether different matter in
defense of advertisements done by Americans for Peace and
Tolerance? They are unrelated.Janet Sterman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
@Greg
You can get off your Great Public Service cross anytime now,
someones going to need that wood
Lisap PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Greg,
Ill try to frame this concisely and with brevity since this is a
blog. The DESE tries to assist parents when they have concerns and
disputes relating to their particular childs educational program
and experience. A significant point to keep in mind with these
proceedings is that only the parent or someone with the parents
express written consent may file a complaint pertaining to the
childs educational program.
The regulation against which the matter was evaluated is
entitled Access to Equal Educational Opportunity and it was
examined in relation to two standards: The first standard requires
that public schools, through their curricula, shall encourage
respect for human and civil rights of all individuals, regardless
of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or
sexual orientation. The second standard requires teachers to review
all instructional and educational materials for simplistic and
demeaning generalizations, lacking intellectual merit, on the basis
of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or
sexual orientation. In reviewing the materials, the evaluation
addressed whether this particular child was denied access to equal
educational opportunity, or whether the material in this particular
childs class used simplistic and demeaning generalizations, etc.
This is very different from holistic review of the curriculum.
By analogy, in the context of special education, parents
frequently have disputes with the system concerning the educational
programs and services provided to their own child. When a hearing
officer for the Bureau of Special Education Appeals renders a
decision on a complaint arising from a due process violation, they
are answering whether the special education services to the
specific child have provided that child with a free and appropriate
education. A determination that the district has not violated any
special education laws or failed to provide that child with a free
and appropriate education has no relevance to any other student in
the district. It is simply a ruling related to the parties involved
in that dispute. Thus, it has very limited precedential value. To
further this analogy, special education decisions are published by
the DESE but when they are published they never include any
identifying information concerning the child or the childs parents.
Further, at the request of school districts their published
decisions often do not identify the school district involved. I
hope this helps.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
So Janet, Ill put you on the list of people who didnt want to
know that the state reviewed complaints about Newtons history
curriculum but found no problems. Perhaps if you had children in
the schools, youd feel differently.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Lisap: It does help thanks. But at a time when my citys
reputation is being challenged with ads in both daily papers, the
leading Jewish newspaper and the local paper of record, I want to
know if the allegations have merit. I understand that the
complaints may not be exactly the same (although I have a hard time
understanding exactly what the ads are alleging) but it is more
information than I would have had otherwise. Im glad to have read
this.Lisap PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Just a little more information about the complaint resolution
process copies and pasted directly from the DESE Program Quality
Assurance Services:
When Someone Who Is Not the Student or the Students Parent Files
a Complaint
Sometimes a complainant is not a student or a students parent,2
but is an educator, community member, or someone else. In those
cases, the Department cannot continue to talk with the complainant
about a specific student unless the students parent has given his
or her written permission to do so. Federal and state laws require
the Department and school districts to keep education records about
students confidential unless the students parent has given
permission (also known as consent) to let someone else have access
to them. 3 The parents consent must be in writing, and needs to
include:
The records or information that may be disclosed by the
Department and the school district;
The purpose for which the records or student information can be
disclosed; and
The people to whom disclosure can be made. 4
As you can see, privacy and confidentiality in the dispute
resolution process is clearly addressed. To see this info on the
DESE website and to review the footnotes, go to:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/prs/#3
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
You are completely wrong, Greg. Participating in public
discourse does NOT make it o.k. for you to share private, legally
privileged and unlawfully obtained information about my family to
the world at large, especially when you are fully aware you are
putting them at risk.
We live in whats called a democracy. It means that people are
free to share their views without fear of retaliation from
government entities. Congratulations for doing your part in making
the U.S. a place where government is to be feared, instead of (as
it still fortunately is) a place where the government is subject to
the will of the electorate.
I dont know whether you consider yourself a communist or a
fascist, one is as bad as the other. I do know that you are truly
evil and ugly, both inside and out.
Charles Jacobs PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Wait a minute So Greg here is telling us that in order for him
to discern if the ads have any merit, ads which claim that Saudi
antisemitism has found its way into Newton schools, and that
Christianity and Judaism are unfairly disadvantaged and Islam is
unfairly privileged, that he is going to rely upon a state agency
whose very definition of its investigation excludes finding on such
concerns? But will surely, in Gregs mind be more forthright than
the school board which defended the Saudi funded text for over a
year before ditching it and calling it, not racist but simply
outdated..
Do I have that right, Greg?
Charles Jacobs
Janet Sterman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Where is the public service in releasing where GSSwriter (AKA
Gail S. Spector) who posted this blog thread, this PRIVATE LETTER
to a citizen of Newton originated?
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
One comment on procedure for handling communications.
I think that it is bad policy for the SC to be the agent for
releasing NPS documents to the media.
In all cases, the procedure should be for documents to be
released to the media through the communications department in
NPS.
In this case, if that approach had been followed, NPS staff
would certainly have redacted any protected information and then
posted the document on the NPS website for anyone to see.
Then we would not have a problem. That is what we should do in
future.
I think that one of the problems here was that a torrent of
calls was unleashed on Matt Hills and the Superintendent and that
would try the patience of any reasonable person, especially for
Matt where the phone number was his home phone number, and from
that people could figure out his home address.
The Newton police have been involved as there is a threat
factor. I am informed that there will be a police presence at the
next SC meeting.
I feel very concerned about the security elements to this and
regard the approach taken by Charles Jacobs as extremely unwise. In
trying to inflict damage in such a manner, folks often draw fire
upon themselves. I have never seen such an approach lead to
solutions.
The only caveat I would apply to all of this is that if NPS had
all of its teaching materials online for all to see (modulo
copyright restrictions) then a major complaint of the Jacobs outfit
would never have arisen.
And we should never be charging folks to see teaching materials.
We should simply scan them and post them on the web where they
should have been in any case.
All content online!
Total transparency on what we teach!
No confusion which can morph into flaming media battles!
Hoss PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Lisap Assuming the superintendents office forwarded the ruling
(letter) to the SC w/o redacting the student name (and did so
outside a closed mtg), is that a mistake in your view? If not,
i.e., if SC members can read private info outside a closed mtg, why
cant the member share it with constituents?
I believe the mistake was only by the school admin offices and
the resulting errors, if any, are their doing not anyone sharing.
Notice the standard confidentially footer (which as no meaning in
law, I dont think) anticipates the content might get in the wrong
hands. They send knew the risks! There are ways to make
confidential material available w/o any ability to forward, copy or
print secure websites that corporations use for protected data
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
The SC is routinely updated on confidential matters and the
relationship between the NPS admin and the SC is very strong in
this area. People havent forwarded or leaked stuff in the past.
I know that this document did not come to Village 14 from the
superintendents office. It came from the SC.
It should have come from the NPS website.
I think we shall learn from this.
It seems that when we approach an election stuff pops up which
is important, but I do hope that the community stays focused on the
votes they will take on November 5th and pays total attention to
the contested races.
Sallee Lipshutz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
@Geoff: Are you referring to a particular School Committee race?
Has some challenged (or unchallenged) SC member taken a stand to
which you can refer us for illumination? Its difficult for someone
outside the school world to pull the fabric of this mantle
apart.
Charles Jacobs PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Geoff: Why did we publish Matt Hills contact info? Because its
on the SC Contact Us page.
You excuse Matt because he is frustrated? How about our
feelings? Geoff: your Supt. of the School Committee is telling
people that its fine to teach students the racist lie that Jews
kill Arab women in jails, is merely a Point of View to be debated
and is not a deliberate lie to harm Jews.
Everyone on this list could come up with a dozen biased points
of view that would be never be tolerated in the school system. We
have a Superintendent of Schools who is telling us that its ok to
debate if Jews kill women in jails. Yet would he ever allow
students to debate if women can do math as well as men, if blacks
have higher crime rates, if Islams precepts that forbids
non-Muslims to have self-rule in Arab realm are the cause of the
Israeli-Arab conflict, if gays ..? etc
The leader of our school system is saying its ok to treat Jews
differently than other people, and you are expressing sympathy with
the SC members who defend this approach?
Im disappointed. Especially as you support our demand for
transparency. You know what we went through for over a year. You
were there. What else could we do but make this more public? You
tell me, Geoff.
Sincerely,
Charles Jacobs
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
I was wondering what Sallee was wondering Geoff. We dont have
any challenges to sitting SC incumbents so I dont see how this is
an election issue. Im not aware of Albright or Steenstrup having
commented on this issue. Please clarify.
Also Geoff, you now you seem to be suggesting that the SC
released this as opposed to your early claims of a rogue leaker.
Have you altered your position on this? If so, what lead you to
change your position so dramatically?
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
My lack of clarity. I should have said it came from a source on
the SC.
An SC member released this information, not the SC.
Margaret and Andrea have not commented.
My comments were intended to say that we might have a thing
going on over this, but our attention should not be devoted to this
at the expense of big issue races.
This was an oversight by an SC member. The student name should
have been removed.
Gail should have noticed that and blacked out the student name
before publishing it.
Case closed. Next time NPS should do the news releases.
Now, on to Charles:
Very bad Charles! You cannot act so innocent. You know that
although Matt Hills home phone number is on our web page and so is
public information, associating it with the rest of that ad content
was designed to cause Matt pain. Nothing more. Nothing less.
You could have made your point, without the phone numbers. But
you had to go there.
This does not advance your cause. Quite the contrary.
I never saw a solution come out of such an approach.
Ever.
But then Ive always gone for positive engagement and my approach
to all of this would have been simply to accelerate putting all of
our curriculum materials online where they should have been in the
first place.
No copy charges. No appearance of hiding stuff.
If we put all of our stuff online, would that help? I could get
behind that.
And please no more taking out ads with peoples personal contact
information!
Hoss PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Geoff Epstein Its off topic, but how could we put copy-written
material online with open viewing?
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Greg,
Ive asked you for four days now to take down the private and
unlawfully obtained information you published about me and my
family without consent. Youve been told many times by many people
that your actions are illegal and dangerous. None of this has had
any effect; the information is public and apparently remain so.
Nothing that anyone says or does makes any difference to you.
What gives you the right to put my children in danger, Greg? Do
you want them to see them dead? Thats certainly how it seems.
Dont give me any of this in the public service b.s. You know
full well that if that was your purpose, you could have fully
redacted the document. (Not that it would have made it o.k., but at
least I wouldnt be concerned about my familys safety). The fact
that you published a private, legally protected document along with
information (my and my childs name and address) that was in no way
necessary to include with the letter shows full well that you acted
with the specific intent to cause me, and my children, harm.
Did you really believe no one would realize that?
Admit it, you published my childs name and address to punish me.
Way to go, big shot! You Tab people really rock first a frail,
83-year woman, now a child. You really know how to choose victims.
Only those unable to defend themselves need apply.
What a bully you are. You try to hurt me by harming my child.
Youre not even enough of a man to admit it. You must be very
frightened to be unable to confront me from even the safety of your
computer keyboard. I guess Im just too powerful and scary. Well
thats the way us Jews are, Greg, we have secret powers others arent
aware of. Youd better watch out.
Now you claim that you just HAD to put my kids at risk because
my citys reputation is being challenged with ads in both daily
papers, the leading Jewish newspaper and the local paper of record.
What, youre afraid your property values will go down? If this is
your big concern, you not only dont get out much, you dont even
leave your bathroom in the morning. (Well, you ARE full of ****).
The leading Jewish paper well its the only Jewish newspaper here,
but why let that stop you from sounding like a pretentious ass? The
local paper of record? you mean journalism school reject Chloe, who
cant get the simplest, most verifiable facts straight because her
real interest in life is buying shoes? Or Emily Kick Me Costello,
who will publish anything as long as the moneys green? Yep, someone
insulting your city (really? you think you own us now?) is a good
reason to violate the law and chuckle down with your girlfriend
because you got someone good by screwing with her kids lives. You
certainly are clever, you.
What makes you even more pathetic than would ever seem possible
is that you are apparently trying to retaliate against me for
putting up those awful, property-destroying ads. You stupid fool,
Im not even the person who did that. God, you are such an idiot.
And I sure would like to ask God why he made someone like you. She
sure does have a strange sense of humor.
So here we have it cant write, cant report, lower than a worm,
hates kids (thatll get you far in this country), and funny-looking
to boot. Id feel sorry for you, but youre too much of a jerk. In
addition to being truly evil, youre a coward and a bully as
well.
Dont expect pity when this comes back to bite you. I wont feel a
bit sorry for you. Neither will anyone else.
Jane PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Geoff -There is no evidence that a School Committee member
released this information and youve provided none. For all we know,
it could have been you who released the information youre a School
Committee member. For you to make such an accusation against your
colleagues without evidence is totally inappropriate. This
information could have come from a number of different sources,
including someone at DESE.
If this is your idea of positive engagement, Id hate to see you
go negative.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Geoff: you still havent explained how you could be so outraged
that a committee member released this and now act like it was no
big deal? What changed?
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
@Kerry: the material would only have been unlawfully obtained if
it was stolen or obtained in some way that was illegal. Thats not
the case.
Also, I have not worked at the TAB for nearly two years.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Matt Hills just acknowledged at the School Committee meeting
that he was the School Committee member who sent the media the
document, which he had confirmed was public. He wanted the public
to know what the DESE had ruled on the curriculum. He did apologize
to the family for not redacting the childs name.
I, too, am sorry that I did not redact the students name sooner.
I did not notice the childs name on the document until it was
pointed out on the blog (which I didnt read immediately). As soon
as I was able, I redacted the students name and address. Had I been
able to redact sooner, I would have done so. I stand by my decision
to post what I knew was a public document.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
I stand by my decision to post what I knew was a public
document.
Gail, thats a statement of opinion, not fact.
JLF PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Matt Hills just let the public know that he was the source who
provided the letter to the media. He apologized and said he didnt
realize that the name should have been redacted. This is a pity.
Matt is a member of the School Committee. The copy of the letter
was sent to the SC from the Superintendents office. Matt explained
at SC tonight that he sent it merely because he wanted the public
to learn of the DESE decision that there was no problem with the
curriculum.
Is this any of his business or his call to make? The DESE
decision is public, but it is for the Superintendent or his
delegated communications manager to release the document to the
public. All that is relevant to the public is the finding, not any
personal details of the complainant. Matt did this without running
it by the Chair or the Superintendent because he has been attacked
on this subject at school committee meetings and in the recent
weeks, by the vitriolic ads placed in the local newspapers. I think
the ads are disgusting and not the way to resolve differences, but
I am very disappointed by Matts actions.Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Lisap:
I stand by my decision is an opinion? I dont think so.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Gail, no silly
what I knew was a public document. Thats your opinion. Thats
Matts opinion. That is a conclusion. That is not a fact.
Gheesh, I didnt think I had to explain that.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
I knew what you meant. Just couldnt help myself.
Tell me: What makes it a fact?
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Of course youre not sorry, Gail. The information is still up
there.
Take it down, issue a public apology, and recompense me for the
hours of worry, work, and emotional distress youve caused. Then you
can be sorry.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Im just thinking out loud here and not directing this at anyone
in particular. But if there was some information out there that I
didnt want people to know about, I wouldnt spend all my time
calling attention to that information.
Of course this is just hypothetical. Sorry to go off topic.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
How about this, LisaP? According to what Matt Hills said tonight
at the School Committee meeting, the DESE said it was a public
document.
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Jane,
I knew who released it to Village 14 but could not divulge that.
No accusation. Just the facts.
Hoss,
I said further up: modulo copyright in which case a reference
could be provided to the materials, e.g. book, pages etc
Greg,
I dont think that SC members should forward stuff they receive
from the admin, as is, if there might be an issue. I think that we
can improve the procedure so that in no case, ever, does an SC
member receive something from the admin which is not already posted
online.
Then there would be no problem.
My big concern was that the memo from David Fleishman went
without review to the media and caused a problem. Protection of
students privacy is a big deal for me. Thats why I had the big
reaction. My priority is students.
There is a simple solution to prevent this and my advice to Matt
and Claire is to implement it.
Matt apologized for the mistake, which was entirely appropriate.
It was a genuine oversight.
Now we should prevent such a thing happening again.
Greg PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
@Geoff: you knew who leaked the memo and yet you called for an
investigation?
And youre the transparency guy?
Geesh.
Gail Spector PERMALINK
October 28, 2013
Greg You cant leak a public document.
Kerry Hurwitz PERMALINK
October 29, 2013
Matt Hills apology is not enough.
Both Fleishman and the Mayor have the authority to remove him
from his position, and that should be done. He should not be
allowed to hold public office in Newton again.
I have some more ideas on what should be done, but Ill keep them
to myself for now.
BTW, Matt Hills never apologized or attempted to contact my
family at all.
Hoss PERMALINK
October 29, 2013
Geoff Epstein said: I think that we can improve the procedure so
that in no case, ever, does an SC member receive something from the
admin which is not already posted online.
BINGO!
However, there will be occasions in constituent service where an
elected member asks a question to administration (schools, City
Hall) and gets an answer that the member wants to pass along (be it
helpful, or a stupid remark). That is all fair and honest! These
are oversight positions, not part of the team. Legitimate private
must be in closed meetings.
Lisap PERMALINK
October 29, 2013
According to what Matt Hills said tonight at the School
Committee meeting, the DESE said it was a public document.
Gail,
Like many large bureaucracies, the accuracy and reliability of
the answer you get depends upon who you talk to to. I have had
several cases with DESE and Im going to leave my answer at that
except to say that I am deeply saddened by this entire mess.
Geoff Epstein PERMALINK
October 29, 2013
Greg,
I did not know which SC member until yesterday. But I knew it
was an SC member.
My position has been consistent.
Leaks of student information must always be investigated.
Barry Cohen PERMALINK
October 29, 2013
The bottom line here is that Gail had an axe to grind against
Kerry and Jacobs who dont fit her Newton liberal self-image. She
did a stupid and rash thing in exposing this issue and moreover in
not forewarning Kerry at least that there would be a blog about it.
She knows for sure that shes in the wrong but shes too stubborn to
admit it and will keep fighting and arguing.
Greg Reibman PERMALINK
October 29, 2013
@Barry:You dont know Gail Spector as well as I do. Im confident
she would have posted this even if the state had found problems
with the curriculum. In fact, Id bet my house on it.
Anyway this thread has more than outlived its usefulness.
Comments are closed.
The Mass .Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education ("DESE")
ruled it is NOT a 'public document'; and public records law has a
specific exception for school records. This is easily found on the
Internet or by calling the relevant agency. LisaP, a frequent
commentator, is an attorney; both readers and Ms. Spector are aware
of that.
My concerns have nothing to do with Islamic or any other type of
propaganda, and have never spoken or wrote about propa- ganda as an
issue. My concerns regard inaccurate and biased materials used by
students in public schools.
I am careful to avoid having my name in public view after being
told by police in 2010 to avoid publicity, after a stalking
incident. Spector was or should have been aware of this.
I am not involved in any controversial issues, nor do I believe
that expressing concern about inaccurate and biased materials used
in my childs school is controversial.
I am not a member of Open Newton Schools or involved with them
in any way. I do not know what its objectives are and have not
expressed support for them. I had no involvement with the
advertisement published by Open Newton Schools. Spector is aware of
all of this.
This link is to an advertisement published by Open Newton
Schools. As noted, I have no connection with the organization or
the advertisement. This sentence suggests that I commissioned the
advertisement after the Complaint was dismissed by the DESE, which
is patently untrue
I wasnt too concerned about the confidential information being
published yet, because I naively assumed that anyone would take
down material that endangered children.
Mr. Epstein was a School Committee member when he wrote this
It was NOT redacted.. The black box that blocked the
confidential information from view took several seconds to appear,
giving ample time to view it.
This is completely untrue - the DESE has ruled on this. Even
before the ruling, the fact that the Statement of Concern is not
public was clearly set forth on the DESE's website and available by
telephone. Every single person who commented knew that; Spector
continues to deny it.
Reibman is co-publisher of village14
Mr. Hess-Mahan is an Alderman and attorney who practices
education law. The readers and publishers of this blog are aware of
this.
Reibman is a publisher of village14
Releasing confidential information is illegal, and both the
people who released it and the publishers of the blog are aware of
it. And putting a family in danger is hardly a "public
service".
The information was NEVER removed by village14. In fact, some of
it is still on the