FORT WORTH, Texas — A meeting for the Fort Worth ISD’s School Health Advisory council Monday took a turn when “some attendees during the online meeting displayed inappropriate content on their screens instead of identifying themselves or using a blank screen, according to the district.
The district says the hacking incident, described as pornographic, that interrupted the Zoom meeting on Jan. 22 around 5:50 p.m., is being investigated.
“We want to express our sincere apologies for any discomfort or offense this may have caused to those present during the meeting,” district officials said in a statement. “We understand the importance of maintaining a safe and respectful environment during all school-related activities, and we take this matter very seriously. Our team is currently investigating the incident, and we will be taking appropriate actions.”
The 21-member council is all volunteers and consists of parents, community members, and district staff members who weigh in on the health education curriculum.
The council was discussing a potential sex education curriculum at Monday’s meeting and ultimately approved recommending the so-called "Choosing the Best" curriculum. According to their website, the course is described as an “abstinence-centered, sexual risk avoidance education."
Laurie George is one of the parent volunteers for the School Health Advisory Council. She says she put in a lot of time researching sexual health education and was ready to share her thoughts and recommendations before it was suddenly bombarded with pornography and a racial slur.
"I was very flustered, and I was in a room with other people, but my screen was private. No one else was looking at it, but it was definitely disruptive. I immediately looked away and took my earbuds out because, you know, again, that's not -- I don't want to be, you know, confronted with pornography. And then I saw someone who put a racial slur up there, and that really distracted me. It's, you know, it's disgraceful," said George.
"When that happened, for me personally, it really threw off my head, my head space where I was at. And as a result, when, you know, I had something to share about the research that I read and really felt like I was not able to adequately express what I wanted to say," George added.
Fort Worth ISD isn’t offering sex education this school year after the district’s superintendent Angelica Ramsey announced it had pulled its previous HealthSmart curriculum after pushback from parents who said they disagreed with the inclusion of topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Regarding the hacking incident, some parents at the district’s regular school board meeting Tuesday called it “unacceptable."
“What happened at the SHAC meeting with the porn last night was unacceptable,” said Hollie Plemons. “The technology person should be fired.”
“This incident happening by itself should be reason enough to get away from learning using technology. There’s so many things that can go wrong, and last night exposed it,” Aaron James said. “Our children’s innocence and privacy are at stake.”
District officials say they’re taking steps to ensure similar incidents don’t happen going forward.
“We want to assure you that we are committed to maintaining a positive and inclusive environment for all participants in our school community. Incidents like this do not reflect the values of our school district, and we are dedicated to taking steps to prevent such occurrences in the future,” officials read. “Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.”
The school district has not determined if the pornography shared on Zoom during the meeting is directly related to the sexual health topic being discussed by the advisory council members.
The next meeting for the School Health Advisory Council is Monday, Jan. 29, at Southwest High School.
George says she plans to be part of the meeting and hopes they have more online security in place.
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