By Dan Murphy
For several weeks, we have been reporting on a viral video that orginated from a parent of a Copper Beach Middle School student, who recorded videos of her meetings with Lakeland School District staff concerning a personality test given to her middle school students. That personality test linked to a website that included inappropriate sexual content. A Tik-Tok video on the topic has 4 million views. Last week, as a homeowner in the Lakeland School district, I received the following letter from Superintendent Dr. Karen Gagliardi.
Dear Lakeland Community,
It has come to our attention that a produced TIK TOK video surfaced on January 5, 2024 that appears to show selected excerpts from a meeting between a parent and District staff from the last school year, 2022-23. The content suggests that material harmful to minors was shared with students intentionally as part of our science curriculum and was not addressed. This is not accurate.
When the issue was brought to the school’s attention the administration responded. Following an immediate investigation, it was determined that the site did contain certain sub links that, if opened, contained inappropriate content. The sub links were not shared intentionally or as part of the curriculum.
It was further determined that a linked test review video was not age-appropriate. Even known Internet sites routinely warrant consistent vetting prior to use as sites can and do change over time.
The necessary steps taken were that the administration met with the parent, the staff involved, and the District’s technology department contacted our internet filtering vendor, immediately blocked the sites, and the vetting process of instructional material, including Internet sites was thoroughly reviewed with staff and administrators.
Administration and staff handle issues with care and confidentiality when expected. We do not condone the use of any material not suitable for its age-appropriate audience. Since further enhancing vendor filtering and strengthening internal processes, that issue has since been resolved.
The Lakeland Central School District recognizes that instructional integrity and the proper use of the Internet is central to educating our students in a safe and meaningful way. Administration and staff take all matters seriously. When an issue arises, it is handled promptly and appropriately, and can only serve to enhance the processes in place for filtering, vetting, uses of the Internet, and staff awareness.
We appreciate that the issue and information was brought forth and acted upon accordingly. We will continue to maintain that the safety and well-being of our students remains our foremost priority. If a parent or guardian has any question or concern, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or school administration.
According to LCSD policy #4156
Internet access is provided with the understanding that the District cannot control the content available on the Internet. The vast majority of sites available provide a wealth of useful information to staff and students. The District cannot warrant the accuracy of all such sites. However, some sites may contain information that is offensive, defamatory or otherwise inappropriate for students. The District does not condone or permit the use of such materials in the school environment and makes good faith efforts to limit access by students to such inappropriate materials…
Internet Safety
The District, in accordance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), shall procure and implement the use of technology protection measures that block or filter Internet access by:
Adults to visual depictions that are obscene or child pornography; and Minors to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography or harmful to minors.
In accordance with this policy, the District uses filtering and/or blocking technology for this purpose, but no filtering or blocking technology is perfect.
As the policy goes on to say, the District does not guarantee that students will be prevented from accessing all inappropriate locations. According to our internet filtering vendor, no filtering and blocking technology can guarantee this.
The District will continue to take whatever measures are necessary in order to improve the safety and security of our children with regard to the Internet.
Sincerely, Dr. Karen Gagliardi Superintendent of Schools.
A number of comments were posted on the Yorktown for Justice Community Form related to this topic. One of the comments referenced an Op-Ed written by Karen Pressman and Jessica Mayes, both members of Lakeland Rise.
The letter is from January of this year, titled Time for Schools Districts, Other Organizations to Push Back on Conspiracies, in The Examiner and is also on social media.
“For those not familiar, Libs of TikTok is a national social media account that thrives on dangerous conspiracy theories and hate speech. Its founder is especially known for targeting educators, medical providers and the LGBTQ+ community.
“The site has been linked to harassment as well as death and bomb threats to teachers, public schools, libraries and hospitals. Not long ago, USA Today ran an article with the headline, “When Libs of TikTok posts, threats increasingly follow.”
“You might wonder what this has to do with our community. Unfortunately, for the Lakeland Central School District, a lot right now. A local parent, well-known for her relentless attempts to undermine our educators by painting them as indoctrinators and groomers, has sadly brought Libs of TikTok to our front door.
“This person secretly took video of a meeting between herself, a beloved teacher and a dedicated administrator. While this may be legally allowed under the state’s one-party consent law, it’s certainly not ethical.
“The issue she raised with them in September 2022 was absolutely legitimate. Students inadvertently had access to a site with links containing inappropriate content. As the superintendent noted in a recent e-mail, “the district’s technology department contacted our internet filtering vendor, immediately blocked the sites, and the vetting process of instructional material, including Internet sites, was thoroughly reviewed.”
“What should’ve been a normal concern raised by a parent, and thoughtfully addressed by the district, has now been weaponized. Through the magic of video editing, this parent created a dangerous false narrative that suggests the content was intentionally taught as part of the district’s curriculum and was “covered up” by the administration. This fabricated nonsense was then posted on the aforementioned hate site, Libs of TikTok.
“If anyone actually watches the video with a critical eye, they’ll see right through the deception. But Libs of TikTok caters to those who don’t think, but react. And, this is where it gets dangerous.
“From that USA Today article: “Philadelphia. Boston. Pittsburgh. Washington, D.C. Akron, Ohio. Threats hit hospitals and medical clinics, and some temporarily evacuate their patients while law enforcement assesses the danger. Then comes summer and fall 2023, at least two dozen public schools and libraries start receiving bomb threats. In California, Colorado, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, they cancel classes and evacuate students. These cases, and many more, share a common link: The victim of each threat had also been targeted, in the days before, by the enormously popular conservative social media channel Libs of TikTok.”
“That’s what this parent has brought to our community, to our schools, to our educators and ultimately to our children.
“A very brave but also scared teacher recently posted about this incident on Facebook. It’s a beautiful statement and it’s clear she’s understandably worried about her colleague, her own career and the entire teaching profession. It’s incredibly sad that she felt she couldn’t name the teacher in her post because she rightfully didn’t want to attract “more unwelcome attention” to him.
“Similarly, we don’t want to name her in this letter. Yet, both of these teachers, and so many educators, deserve to be publicly celebrated and rewarded, not threatened and pushed out of a profession they love.
For far too long this parent, and a small group of others like her, have been calling the shots. We appreciate that the district is standing up now but they’ve entertained this band of bullies for years. If Lakeland wants to show it values its educators, it will stop placating these agenda-filled parents and publicly push back on their attacks on our teachers, administrators and the entire public education system.
“We also call on legislators to address flaws in the one-party consent law. There are exceptions under the legislation in which a person can be found guilty if they record another party “for the purpose of degrading or abusing a person” and at “a place and time when such person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
“At a time when our educators are under attack, and many are exiting the profession out of legitimate fears around personal safety, there must be an avenue to help protect them from bad-faith actors who smear professionals, not in the best interest of students, but in an effort to boost their own profile. It’s not an exaggeration to say public education is under assault and teachers are taking the biggest blows. We all need to put an end to it.”
Karen Pressman and Jessica Mayes are on the Board of Directors of Lakeland RISE, a grassroots advocacy founded by parents and residents of the Lakeland Central School District in 2021. It is not affiliated with the district.” end of letter from Pressman and Mayes.
We have printed stories about the Undercover Mom, whose name has been posted on social media. The one question that she asked that was warranted in our view was -will the district notify all of the parents of students involved? The district has not notified a universe of possible parents with students who may have been involved.
Another question is why the Mom decided to release the video two year after the incident? The videos continue to be viewed by millions on TickTok and @Sage Ops. No legal action has been taken by either the Mom or the school district, and there has been no public accusations that the videos are not real.
