Harvey Vasquez, at the microphone, alleges the Cherry Hill school district released personal information about his son and dozens of other district students without parental permission.
The Cherry Hill school district has admitted that it publicly released names of students who had opted out of the controversial Family Life curriculum taught in the schools.
A Cherry Hill school district parent alleged during the October 29 Board of Education meeting that in September 2023 the district provided a group known as the New Jersey Public Education Commission with the names of his son and at least 82 other elementary school students without the permission of parents.
"Sensitive information was recklessly released (to) an organization whose chairman has been systematically pursuing data from school districts across the state to advance a specific ideological agenda," Harvey Vazquez, the parent making the allegations, said. "This group aggressively promotes a family-life curriculum, presenting it in a one-sided manner that does not reflect the diverse perspectives within our community."
Vazquez further alleged that the district's action violated the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. According to the U.S. Department of Education, materials covered by the act are records directly related to the education programs of a student. Vazquez further alleged that the affected students attended Russell Knight, Bret Harte, Richard Stockton and Thomas Paine elementary schools in Cherry Hill.
Vazquez last week narrowly missed out on getting elected to the Board of Education in the general election, according to unofficial results from Camden County. Ten candidates ran for three openings. Vazquez received 10,472 votes, just behind Kurt Braddock, who was elected with 10,591 votes. The other winners were Bridget Palmer (14,202 votes) and Dean Drizin (13,089 votes).
Vazquez asked the district to notify affected families and to issue a public apology within 24 hours and that disciplinary measures be taken against those responsible for the data release, saying he would notify the affected families himself and would consider a class action lawsuit against the district if his requests were not met.
On November 4, the district sent a letter signed by Superintendent Kwame Morton to all affected parents.
A copy of the letter obtained by 70and73.com stated that in fulfilling an Open Public Records Act request from Michael Gottesman records were publicly released that "led to a technical vulnerability that inadvertently exposed the names of students who opted out of the Family Life Curriculum for the 2022-2023 academic year."
The Morton letter also stated the district is "diligently working with all parties involved to ensure the complete protection of personal data."
Kristen Viglietta, a district spokesperson, told 70and73.com on November 5 that it has "revised its processes to protect student information from any future exposure" but did not immediately provide specifics on revisions.
After the October school board meeting, Vazquez referred a 70and73.com reporter to opramachine.com, a website that identifies itself as helping users make Open Public Records Act requests. A page within the website contained several Open Public Records Act requests from Michael Gottesman, founder of the New Jersey Public Education Coalition (NJPEC).
One request was for, as Gottesman wrote, "the total number of students whose parents have availed themselves of the opt-out provisions of N.J.S.A.18A:35-4.7 and opted their child out of all or a portion of the 2020 NJSLS-CHPE mandate or curriculum promulgated in accordance thereto for the 2022-2023 school year."
According to the New Jersey Department of Education website, this statute covers updates to the state's learning standards for health and physical education to provide "health and physical literacy and pursue a life of wellness by developing the habits necessary to live healthy, productive lives that positively impact their families, schools and communities."
Gottesman told a 70and73.com reporter in emails dated October 29 and October 30 that he requested the same data from all New Jersey school districts to examine claims that the majority of parents had opted their children out of learning the updated standards. Gottesman told the reporter that the analysis showed the actual amount was under 3%.
Gottesman on Sunday night contended Vazquez's allegations about the motivations of NJPEC were "campaign rhetoric." Gottesman stated: "The Coalition advocates for the continuation of diversity and inclusion in our public schools and curriculum."
Past news reports indicate that these updates to what some parents called their district's Family Life curriculum, came under fire in some New Jersey school districts when parents claimed the updates would allow discussion of topics such as gender identity and the functions of reproductive organs.
The opramachine.com page also contained a letter from Cherry Hill Assistant Superintendent Lynn E. Shugars to Gottesman that stated in part: "some of the documents with student counts… may not have been properly redacted and student names are visible when the documents are searched in an HTML format."
Shugars also asked Gottesman to remove the documents previously received and replace them with a new set of documents she provided.
The documents and some of the correspondence between Gottesman's group and the district can be viewed on this page of opramachine.com.
Gottesman told 70and73.com that his organization's request did not "demand provision of (personal identifiable information) and it is the district's obligation to make sure none is released." He added: "You can draw your own conclusions regarding whether (personal identifiable information) was disclosed by the district."
At the October 29 school board meeting, Jennifer Sharmin, another parent in the Cherry Hill school district, made comments that seemed to support Vazquez's allegations.
Mindy Rosen, another Cherry Hill school district parent, said if Vazquez's allegations are proven true, it could have a significant impact on the district.
"This is very troubling," Rosen said. "A (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) violation is very serious. It can result in losing federal funding."
