Students Forced To Discuss Their Sexuality, Religion In Anti-Bullying Workshop

Students gather on the front steps at the Hazleton Elementary/Middle School during the first day of school in Hazleton, Pa., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. (Ellen F. O'connell/Hazelton Standard-Speaker via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) — Parents say students at a Pennsylvania school were asked personal questions that opened them up to ridicule during what was supposed to be an anti-bullying workshop.

School officials defended the superintendent after eighth-grade students at West Allegheny Middle School in Imperial were asked last week to step into a circle and answer questions including whether they were gay, what their religion was and about their family’s financial status.

School board president Debbie Mirich says the board supports Superintendent Jerri Lynn Lippert, district administrators and teachers.

Lippert says the “Kindness Workshop” was created after bullying reports with good intentions but had unintended consequences.

Parents said at meetings this week that students were also asked about the education levels of family members, drug and alcohol usage and household marital status.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: