I have a question about what teachers can and can't discuss outside the classroom. Can a teacher talk (more like gossip) about a certain student to his/her friends? Aren't there laws protecting the rights of students?
The only reason i ask is because this happened to me. This weekend my ex called and said that his friend is dating a teacher that teaches at my son's school. He stated that she told him about a student (don't want to go into details). Come to find out that student is my son and the things that were said were totally false. I'm really upset about this and was wondering if i can do anything about it.
Thanks!
No, they are not allowed to discuss your child with anyone outside of school without your permission. We had this happen where the teacher called Payne's hospital to talk to his dr w/o our permission - we didn't want her to talk to him for a reason...she flubbed that up pretty good for us too. She was reprimanded after I spoke with the principal - I told him either he could fix it or I would go to the school board. File a complaint w/ the principal first - in writing & in person (if you can) NO!Thank you all for your replies! This teacher doesn't even have direct contact with my son! I will find out her name and will send a note to the principal...maybe even file a formal complaint with the DOE.Hippa...privacy act applies to ALL professions not just the medical field. If I am discussing my day with even my family(I'm a Medical Assistant)I might say we had a patient today that.....but the name never comes up. I don't even acknowledge patients I see in public unless they bring it up first.
It also applies to what the subject matter is, if they are asking about ideas to help "a student" then I don't think that is inappropriate, but if its just venting(and lets be fair here, we ALL vent to someone about our day)it should be done in a way that doesn't get back to anyone else. My son's teacher will tell me that she talks to her Dad(also a special ed teacher) about my son and certain coping strategies or bounce off of him certain techniques. It doesn't bother me because I know she has my son's best interest invovlved. But false or malicious gossip shouldn't be tolerated.
I know a few teachers on a personal level. It is often the same as when you come home from work and talk about your day. It is hard to do without mentioning the people you work with. My mother will discuss children from her class. No names but circumstances. My other friend and I discuss the children with special needs in her class. She teaches kids with add and adhd since she is an adult with sever add and even has an autistic child in her class that she adores! We talk about generalizations. No teacher should ever disclose personal information about your child, especially his name!
Teachers do need to be able to come home and talk about issues with someone. They are like the rest of us on this board. They need to talk to.
edited- btw- this also happened to me and I confronted the teacher on this. This was on my NT dd and I was livid. The teacher had said some pretty nasty things.
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That sounds like my son's teacher, she has ADD and my son is the only ASD child in her class.
Teachers do need to be able to come home and talk about issues with someone. They are like the rest of us on this board. They need to talk to.
edited- btw- this also happened to me and I confronted the teacher on this. This was on my NT dd and I was livid. The teacher had said some pretty nasty things.
It happened to me.
When my son was in preschool we had a wonderful aide. After he went on to kindergarten we stayed in contact. Turns out that the new aide in kindergarten called up his old aide from preschool and left a message on her machine went something like..."just calling to get some ideas of what to do with this kid, he's a real monster."
Our pre k aide asked us not to say anything because it would start trouble in her job. (The kindergarten aide had a lot of pull) It didn't take long before the kindergarten aide openned her big mouth again this time she stood up at a paraprofessional meeting and used my son's name out loud. She asked the behaviorist who was speaking to the group what to do with my son. She used his name several times and described his issues and diagnosis in front of a whole room full of people.
The next day we went to the principal and to the supervisor of special education and told them how our son's privacy was violated. (we only spoke of the meeting). Of course they tried to cover up and said she was trying to ask for advice for his benefit, blah blah blah. We stated it was not only unprofessional but illegal. To make along story short we got a new aide for our son.
Ironically that aide who called my son a monster and used his name out loud had to deal with a privacy issue of her own. Her son was 18 and arrested for DUI and underage drinking. It was published in the police blotter of our local paper and that was completely legal
All too often, teachers and support staff violate privacy. It is sad but true. I had a conversation with my principal just this afternoon about a support person in our building talking to other adults about one of my students. Grown ups really should act more grown up sometimes.