KENOSHA, Wis. — A parent speaking at the Kenosha Unified School District Board of Education meeting Thusday evening raised concerns about transparency and student privacy after a teacher at Southport Elementary School allegedly photographed an entire second-grade class on a personal phone and the image was later deleted after it was requested.
The issue centers on what the parent described as an “on-the-fence” classroom incident earlier this year involving a second-grade class.
According to the parent’s statement to the board, the incident began when a teacher punished the entire class after a small number of students misbehaved while waiting to enter music class. Students were allegedly required to stand along a fence during recess as punishment.
During the incident, the parent said the teacher referred to the students as “naughty” and told them they were “the worst class ever,” language the parent said contributed to the distress her child later described at home.
The teacher then allegedly took out a personal cell phone and photographed the entire class. According to the parent, the teacher told the students the picture would be shown to their regular classroom teacher, who was on medical leave at the time.
School administrators later confirmed the photograph was sent to that teacher outside the building.
The situation escalated after the parent requested a copy of the photograph from school officials in order to understand exactly what had happened during the incident.
According to the parent’s statement to the board, the request was made shortly after the incident occurred and again in follow-up communications with the school.
School officials later told the parent the photograph had been deleted and could not be produced.
If that timeline is accurate, the situation could raise questions under Wisconsin’s public records law.
Wisconsin Statute §19.31 establishes the state’s open records policy and declares that government records must generally be preserved and made available to the public. The statute states that providing the public with “the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government” is a fundamental policy of the state.
Under Wisconsin law, a request for a record does not need to cite the statute or use any specific wording to qualify as a public records request. When a person asks a government entity for a record that exists, courts have repeatedly held that the request must be treated as a valid public records request.
Once such a request is made, the responsive record generally must be preserved while the request is pending and during any potential administrative or court proceedings.
If a responsive record is destroyed after a request has been made, courts have found that doing so can violate Wisconsin’s public records law because it interferes with the requester’s ability to obtain the record.
In this case, the parent told the board the photograph was requested multiple times before school officials later confirmed it had been deleted.
School documentation provided to the parent indicates administrators spoke with the teacher involved and reviewed district policy, but no formal discipline was imposed.
The parent told board members Monday evening that the issue was not simply about a single disciplinary decision but about transparency and accountability when incidents involving students occur.
She also questioned whether other families were ever notified that their children had been photographed on a personal device and that the image had been shared outside the school building.
District officials did not publicly respond to the concerns during the meeting.
The Kenosha Unified School District has not indicated whether any internal review is underway regarding the deletion of the photograph or whether the incident could implicate Wisconsin’s public records law.
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19 Responses
That ohotograph is not a government record if done by a private person, even if it is a teacher. Her property. Open records do not apply to this.
It was done by an employee of the government on government property during their working hours as a government employee. So yes it’s a government record.
Nope. I was on a WI high school board for 9 yrs., and have experience with Open Records. Has to be official photos authorized by the school for the school.
You can find out and if you want to know for sure, you can write to the WI AG and ask for an unofficial AG opinion and letter.
Trust me… It sure it.
On school time, as employee of school of kids on school property under her direction.
How fkn stupid can you get?
Please understand.
For ANYONE who chooses a career no matter what level or position, that gets a Taxpayer Funded Paycheck, you have to understand that EVERYTHING YOU DO on and at the job becomes part of the public record.
After work or at home, no, but while “on the clock” yes !!!
The fact that you don’t understand that simple connection of pay with at work conduct proves you think you are above the laws and constitution.
If you don’t want oversight of your job other than your immediate boss then don’t look at a government paycheck for your income.
People choose government jobs for the security, the insurance, the sometimes tenure and the protection of the politics the management.
If you want your actions and phone photos kept private then go to the private sector.
Because just those two words, “public and private” makes the rules you work under like night and day.
Wow, a real lawyer! Not
Soft ass parents. Stop breeding. We dont need more pussies in this country. Teach your kid to behave, and this won’t happen. Who cares. Nonstory
Agreed. Sounds like these shitty parents are looking for people to blame instead of taking responsibility for their kid not behaving.
Pussies to the second degree.
You missed the point by acres not yards.
Did you watch the school board meeting? The class was punished for a few students mistakes. Her kid didn’t do anything wrong but was still punished, photographed, and that photo was sent and made on a cell phone. That isn’t the freedom I fight for.
i agree. Maybe they are the worst class ever, kids are A holes
KUSD is probably using the photo for their teacher grooming visual-aide.
Not a picture by a fence!We need counselors at once.May be scarred for life.
Send in the nuns!
Southport Counselor B is the absolute worst! Her conversations and messages should be checked out!
Would you want someone taking pics of your 2nd grader while being punished due to others misbehaving? I wouldn’t.
Don’t take pictures on your cell phone of little kids and then delete them before anyone can see them. That is sus. Predators come from everywhere.
I stand by my opinion: Liok at the first and last paragraphs. From Elon’s GROK (AI):
“ Under Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2), a “record” includes photographs (among other media) that have been created or are being kept by an “authority” (e.g., a public school district or its employees acting in their official capacity).
• The law strongly presumes complete public access to records, with denial allowed only in exceptional cases.
• Photos taken by teachers in a school setting (e.g., classroom activities, student events) are often considered records if they relate to official school business, are stored on school devices, or are used/shared in an official context.
Relevant Exceptions and Limitations
The main potential carve-out for teachers is the “personal notes” or personal use exception in Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2):
• It excludes “drafts, notes, preliminary computations, and like materials prepared for the originator’s personal use.”
• This is narrowly interpreted. It applies to informal items solely for the teacher’s personal reference (e.g., private notes to jog memory), not if the material is shared, used officially, retained as part of school activities, or accessible to others.
• Courts and Attorney General opinions (e.g., in cases like State v. Panknin or AG opinions) emphasize that if something memorializes agency activity, communicates info, or goes beyond purely personal use, it’s not exempt.
• Purely personal photos (e.g., unrelated to school duties, like a teacher’s family photo on their desk) are excluded as “purely the personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or her office.”