What is this Mystery Compliance Theater 2000 thing?
Even though we thought it was pretty obvious that someone should be held accountable when a WWF-style cage match happens in class, and if not there should at least be some kind of explanation why, that was not the opinion of PLSAS. When this all began, we went two weeks without even hearing back from the administration. When they finally did respond, the investigations we thought were being done in good faith resulted in self-absolving statements that were almost entirely redacted. The only relevant fact visible on the investigation into maltreatment-reporting failure was the fact that our child didn't report the issue to staff until the next day. In other words, it was the neglected child's fault for not telling the person who neglected them sooner. We wanted to be able to point our child at something and say, 'See, what happened to you is not OK, and people who do that kind of thing experience consequences,' but the only way we could do that was to break through the bureaucratic fog machine we had been given. To do that, we turned to AI. We built a database storing all of our communications and records, started analyzing it for inconsistencies, created tools to support requesting our data and contesting it when inaccurate, and went to work attempting to set the record straight. Spending more than a year analyzing your child's abuse and neglect in detail can get a person a little down, so we tried to find ways to bring a little mirth into the mix. The name came from the irony we felt while stuck in a situation where the very people we had entrusted to protect our child used privacy as a shield for the institution instead of the children the laws were made to protect. We found Compliance Theater to be a useful tool in leveling the playing field, and hope to make the technology available to other families in similar situations.
Whats all this about FERPA definitions?
FERPA lets schools disclose education records without consent only under defined exceptions. The question is whether the district can identify the posted category, role, purpose, and legal basis for each person who accessed student records. If they can't, then they shouldn't have been able to see your child's data. If they went at least 2 years without even posting those definitions, and let people see even more of your child's data than you could? That wouldn't be great.
How can I learn more?
You can contact us at stopbullyingpriorlake@gmail.com. This is not our day job, but we will make an effort to reply to questions. We are particularly interested in opportunities to help other families in situations like ours. All of the technology used here, except for the AI models, is open source, and we would be grateful to help anyone who could use it get set up with their own version.
What do the red boxes mean?
Red boxes mark private family or minor identifying information removed before publication. Each document includes an index identifying those redactions. Other redactions appear as the district provided them. While preparing these documents, we found it a little bit funny that with only 20% of the record to work with, we were still able to redact all of our private data without destroying the meaning of the record we had been presented with. The red boxes show how information could be shared contrasted to how it was shared.
Are these district records?
The release pages are built around records, emails, packets, and PDFs received from or sent to public school entities. Private family identifying data has been removed before publication.
Why does my request form have this weird logo?
When a person is treated the way we have been treated, we have found there is some healing in speaking truth to power. We include the image on requests sent to bad-actor schools because we believe it accurately captures the ridiculousness of the situation. When the people who have hurt your child have more money, power, and record access than you, any edge is a blessing. We believe the people involved in our case have come to hate that picture because they know what comes on the next page is likely going to be hard to hand-wave away, and we believe that impact helps level the playing field. We understand it is not for everyone, and if it is not helpful for you, there is an option to remove it.
Why include board emails?
The board emails show when concerns were sent and, where available, whether an acknowledgement or routing receipt exists. That timing matters when a public body has notice of governance concerns. In this case, the Superintendent and Title IX Coordinator were directly implicated in the matters at hand. In the hope that letting the people voters can hold accountable know what was happening, the parent started including the board on communications. Their silence, even after being asked to identify a conflict-free processing route, was disappointing.
