I have known the current 9th-District member of the City of Richmond Public School Board longer than I have known any of her other school board colleagues. And while Pinkney-Eppes and I have had differences on issues over the years, our common ground has always been that we are willing to fight as hard as humanly possible to help all children in Richmond get the best education possible.
That said, I confess that I have given up trying to understand some of Pinkney-Eppes' actions since becoming an RPS School Board member in 2012. Remember when she endorsed Ken Cuccinelli and later that same week declared bankruptcy? Remember how the Cuccinelli campaign stood by her?
This latest incident cannot be ignored.
Given the potentially serious consequences for violating confidential academic, disciplinary and (in some cases) medical records of students -- a loss of federal funding, imposition of fines and penalties up to $1.5 million as well as the possibility of criminal prosecution and jail time -- the members of the School Board and Supt. Dana Bedden are doing the smart thing by calling for an investigation.
Click here to see for yourself how serious the possible consequences of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule related to the use and disclosure of confidential information could be.
Click here to see what the consequences could be for violating HIPAA confidentiality and releasing medical information about a student without prior consent of parents or guardians.
Click here to see what the consequences could be for violating HIPAA confidentiality and releasing medical information about a student without prior consent of parents or guardians.
In an effort to be fair and not rely upon hearsay or accounts from other journalists, I called Pinkney-Eppes and asked her to help me understand what was going on. She said she thought her colleagues were "trying to undermine and discredit" her.
I asked if it was true that she told her board members that she not only discussed confidential information over the telephone but also drove to the third party medicaid vendor's office and tried to open the confidential files there?
She refused to give a direct answer. Instead, she took great umbrage with the question and said she was "shocked" that other School Board members would violate "closed session" and speak publicly about the allegations and investigations discussed therein. She accused them of playing politics with her and likened their release of a statement as "political grandstanding."
I asked (again) if it was true that she told her colleagues that she discussed the student's record over the telephone with the vendor and then drove to the vendor's office ? She (again) refused to answer and repeatedly said: "I have done nothing nefarious or intentional."
In response to that comment, I asked how she (or anyone) could view driving to the vendor's office and attempting to open the files there as somehow "unintentional?" Silence.
Finally, I asked her to imagine how she would respond if someone were to share her child's (or grandchild's) academic, discipline and medical records with a third party without her prior consent.
Again, she refused to answer.
Enough said (or not said). The RPS School Board and Supt. Dana Bedden are to be commended for taking swift action on this matter and publicly calling for an investigation.
Pinkney-Eppes needs to stop playing the victim in the drama she created, take responsibility for her actions and stop blaming her colleagues and RPS Superintendent Bedden, for acting in the best interests of the school system.
Text of statement School Board issued upon learning of the breach of student records by Pinkney-Eppes:
I asked if it was true that she told her board members that she not only discussed confidential information over the telephone but also drove to the third party medicaid vendor's office and tried to open the confidential files there?
She refused to give a direct answer. Instead, she took great umbrage with the question and said she was "shocked" that other School Board members would violate "closed session" and speak publicly about the allegations and investigations discussed therein. She accused them of playing politics with her and likened their release of a statement as "political grandstanding."
I asked (again) if it was true that she told her colleagues that she discussed the student's record over the telephone with the vendor and then drove to the vendor's office ? She (again) refused to answer and repeatedly said: "I have done nothing nefarious or intentional."
In response to that comment, I asked how she (or anyone) could view driving to the vendor's office and attempting to open the files there as somehow "unintentional?" Silence.
Finally, I asked her to imagine how she would respond if someone were to share her child's (or grandchild's) academic, discipline and medical records with a third party without her prior consent.
Again, she refused to answer.
Enough said (or not said). The RPS School Board and Supt. Dana Bedden are to be commended for taking swift action on this matter and publicly calling for an investigation.
Pinkney-Eppes needs to stop playing the victim in the drama she created, take responsibility for her actions and stop blaming her colleagues and RPS Superintendent Bedden, for acting in the best interests of the school system.
Text of statement School Board issued upon learning of the breach of student records by Pinkney-Eppes:
I have read FERPA and very familiar with HIPAA. My question would be, it appears this could be a violation of the law. Has any member on the board called for an independent outside law agency to investigate this and if not, why? Wouldn't it be prudent to do so instead of investigating yourself. I believe the real truth could be attained this way. And it certainly might help for potential liability issues arising down the road if the board subtracted themselves from this. Just a thought. Thank you Carol for the eyes and ears of integrity.
ReplyDelete