A judge has given lawyers in a case involving the Jefferson City School District a deadline to submit documents before a final decision is made.
During a hearing Monday, Cole County Judge Jon Beetem requested documents be filed within 20 days on what the court should decide regarding whether former JC Schools employee Tammy Ferry violated board policies and federal law by transferring electronic files containing student information to a personal account.
The former technology coordinator was fired in July. Ferry appealed the Board of Education's decision to fire her in August.
JC Schools' attorney, Chris Rackers, argued Monday that by transferring 7,369 instances of data, Ferry did not keep the confidential information secure.
Board policy's definition of disclosure is different from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Board policy states disclosure to any party while FERPA refers to a third party gaining access to information.
She was not accused of risking the security of the information; however, Rackers argued the information was not as secure under the district's Google account.
The district uses Google Suite for Education, Communication Director Ryan Burns said. The tool is equipped with layers of security to keep students and data safe, and Google cloud storage offers security protocols for email services and other Google services, according to Google's website.
Ferry's attorney, David Moen, argued under FERPA that since Ferry managed the documents while working for the district, the transfer allowed her the same access to information and was password-protected.
Moen also argued other former JC Schools employees admitted to transferring information to personal accounts, and part of Ferry's role as technology coordinator was to train staff on transferring files for later access.
Ferry claims she transferred the files to preserve them for the upcoming trial in her employment discrimination lawsuit against the district; Superintendent Larry Linthacum; and Joe Martin, the district's technology director who was her supervisor, according to court documents.
Ferry sued the above mentioned in April 2017 alleging retaliation, sex discrimination and a hostile work environment. A trial date is set to be scheduled by mid-December.
In addition to overturning her termination, Ferry's appeal asks the court to award her attorney fees.