Luna's office shares election complaints
Late Wednesday, the Press received this memo from Melissa McGrath of the Idaho Department of Education.
Dear all –
The attached are copies of the State Department of Education’s response to multiple public record requests for evidence of the “number of different inquiries from legislators, parents and members of the public regarding the propriety of political activities currently taking place on school grounds.”
These requests were made in response to a memo Superintendent Luna sent to all school districts on May 13, 2011 reminding them of the Code of Ethics for Idaho Professional Educators.
I think you will see from the attached documents, both prior to May 13 and after May 13, that the SDE had received numerous inquiries and complaints from people across the state concerned about political activities on school grounds.
I know the media was notified of the initial public record request; therefore, I am sending copies of these records to all media as a follow-up. If you plan on covering the release of these records, here is a statement you can use and attribute to me:
“The State Department of Education has records of more than 20 complaints or inquiries regarding political activities on school grounds that came in prior to May 13, and many more that have come in since then. Clearly, parents, patrons and others saw activities going on that not only made them uncomfortable but also are against the Code of Ethics for Professional Educators.”
Please note that residential addresses, residential phone numbers and person e-mail addresses were redacted per Idaho Code Idaho Code §9-340H. The staff in the Teacher Certification and Professional Standards office received at least ten informal complaints; however, these records were exempted under Idaho Code §9-340C(9) because they could be part of Professional Standards Commission investigations.
Please let me know if you need anything else. The full memo that Superintendent Luna sent on May 13 is posted online at http://educationidaho.blogspot.com/2011/05/sde-sends-memo-to-schools-regarding.html.