Elmbrook Senior Leadership Attempts to Access Private Student Health Records Without Consent
Elmbrook also told this family that their child could not be discriminated against since she was part of a majority class, prompting legal response reminding Elmbrook discrimination laws apply to all.
As additional details emerge from the discrimination complaint that led Tanya Fredrich (Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning) to put in writing that since a student was part of a “majority” class they could not be discriminated against, we have found out that Elmbrook senior leadership also tried to access private medical records of this student.
According to this report:
“The child in question was suffering from depression and her parents were working with doctors to address her health concerns, the mother who filed the complaint told the DCNF [Daily Caller News Foundation] on the condition of anonymity. The parents discovered their daughter was failing, but said they had no idea and administrators would not communicate with them unless they gave the school access to the student’s personal healthcare information and open dialogue with her healthcare professionals.
The student’s mother started going to board meetings and Elmbrook’s Teaching and Learning Committee meetings, which she said seemed to focus entirely on helping low-income and non-white students, often advocating for the use of many of the accommodations that she claimed the district was refusing her daughter.”
The parent, in an interview on 3/24/22 (starts 21:25) disclosed that Elmbrook went ahead and tried to access their child's private medical records. The provider denied them, but alerted the family of Elmbrook's attempt.
As a reminder, on 3/9/22, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty sent the District this letter reminding them that "All people are protected by federal and state nondiscrimination laws." Elmbrook responded on 3/10/22 with a defensive and divisive denial of any wrongdoing.
Additional news coverage on this issue here.