School board appeals ruling saying it was wrong to release video of teaching dragging student
CBC
The Dehcho Divisional Educational Council is appealing a ruling from the N.W.T. Information and Privacy Commissioner that found it acted improperly when it released videos that showed a Fort Simpson teacher dragging a student by their hood.
Andrew Fox, the N.W.T. Information and Privacy Commissioner, ruled in late November that releasing the videos did not satisfy the public interest, and doing so amounted to disclosing the teacher's personal information.
Although the teacher's face couldn't be seen in the videos, Fox wrote that the community is small enough that the teacher could be identified. One of the videos was published by CBC News.
The decision stemmed from a complaint by the teacher that the release of the videos breached their privacy.
But the DDEC has asked a judge to overturn the commissioner's decision, arguing in court documents that releasing the videos was in the public interest and that the school board took all the appropriate steps in doing so.
The incident on March 28 involved Shannon Cazon's daughter, Aubrey Moses, who was dragged by the hood by a teacher at Líídlįį Kúę Elementary School.
Soon after the alleged incident, a photo taken by a passerby began circulating online and was sent to a horrified Cazon.
The photograph "had a divisive effect on the community," according to the DDEC's court filings, and the school board received numerous letters from the community both advocating for the teacher and expressing concern for the safety of the children at school.
On March 31, Cazon requested the school's footage of the incident through an Access to Information Request, and the school board provided it to her.
The DDEC said it informed the teacher that the videos would be released.
On April 17, two days before the release, the N.W.T. Teachers Association wrote to the DDEC on the teacher's behalf, opposing the release, contending that it was an unreasonable invasion of the teacher's privacy.
The DDEC wrote that it considered the submissions but ended up releasing the videos and informed the N.W.T. Teachers Association of the decision.
The school board wrote in court documents that it made the decision "believing that it was in the public interest to disclose the videos without delay."
"The DDEC reasoned that there was a public interest in the disclosure and that transparency was critical in responding to the parent's request for information," it said.
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