An Illinois school board has decided to discipline a high school teacher who it says “mischaracterized” the intentions of administrators by advising students of their Constitutional rights before surveying students in his class.
School administrators in Batavia, Illinois will punish social
studies teacher John Dryden with a letter of remedy, which
outlines certain probationary actions he must compete or else
face more consequences. Only one board member, according to the
Chicago Daily Herald, voted not to punish Dryden, citing only his
“feelings” against doing so.
Members of the Batavia community and social media users
previously rallied around Dryden, who advised three of his
classes that the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution
guarantees them the right to avoid self-incrimination before they
took a survey regarding drug and alcohol use, as well as their
emotional tendencies. Every survey was marked with an individual
student’s name and was intended, the school says, for review by
counselors and psychologists who were trying to screen students
that may need therapy or extra help.
Parents were uncomfortable with the school’s decision to share
the results of the survey with the private corporation that sold
the questionnaires.
Dryden previously admitted it was “dumb luck” he was able
to review the questionnaires before passing them out, and that he
would have consulted administrators if given more time.
“Somebody needs to remind them they have the ability not to
incriminate themselves,” Dryden said, adding that the real
issue was not his conduct but the aims of the questions. “I
have asked people to talk about the survey. I think I am a
sideshow. I’m not a martyr.”
Superintendent Jack Barshinger told reporters there was no Fifth
Amendment issue at stake because once students’ names were on the
forms the documents became subject to student records and,
consequently, student privacy laws. An admission of underage alcohol or drug
use is not a punishable offense, Barshinger continued, saying
police would only arrest a student if they are harming other
students.
School board president Cathy
Dremel, after a closed-door meeting where Dryden and several
supporters spoke, said the social studies teacher
“mischaracterized” the intention of the survey, which was
not to invade students’ privacy but to determine how the school
could focus attention on specific students.
“The board will not support
any employees giving students false impressions about those who
come here every day” to work in the best interest of the
students, Dremel told the Chicago Daily Herald.
At least some parents – some
of which signed the petition to support Dryden, which attracted
more than 4,000 signatures – stood by their previous assertion
that Dryden was right to remind the students of their
Constitutional rights.
“I was not made aware a
survey was going to be issued to my son, and basically was not
given any opportunity to protect his privacy rights,” said
one mom, who also works at Batavia High School. But Dryden
was joined in his stance that the entire conversation should have
been shifted from himself to the goals of the survey, which he
previously said was “rushed and wasn’t
vetted.”
Scott Bayer, a wrestling coach
at the school who also teaches social studies, said when the
issue surfaces again both sides need to communicate better, with
each other and the community.
“We as teachers were put in
a situation where we were forced to react,” he said.
“Things were not communicated very well, students were
apprehensive and had questions, and we couldn’t give
answers.”
This article originally appeared on: RT