Can I sue Callie Oettinger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can sue the 501(c)(3) nonprofit called Special Education Action, lead by Callie Oettinger, which advocates for families that have been denied special education services, but really, why go after the nonprofit that's trying to help and advocate for families, and bring to light the misdeeds for FCPS, to encourage FCPS to do better. It's like suing the NAACP, or ACLU when the federal government makes a mistake. The real issue is with FCPS's terrible track record of mishandling information.

Also, here's Callie's response, which gives a lot more details then what FCPS is misleading you about.
https://specialeducationaction.com/pro-tip-dont-believe-everything-fairfax-county-public-school-tells-you/

Ah, she copied 35,000 records "under the impression" they were her previous records requests. If someone sues they will find out during discovery what actually happened.

Why did she copy anything, fcps should be the one that copies and gives her the data. FCPS is at fault

Yes, FCPS committed a stupid error. No one is debating that.

This thread is addressing what *she* did once she received those files.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess if the suit is successful and damages are awarded that would be more money available to pay said damages.

I don't think a small local non-profit that advocates for special needs kids has that much money to take from them...

She said suing her would probably bring attention and donations to her nonprofit. This feels like a thinly veiled attempt to dissuade people from suing her. Now we are taking a different approach. Using feel-good words to put a halo over her non-profit. This also feels like an attempt at deflection. You’d have to be some kind of monster to go after a small local non-profit that helps vulnerable kids, right? If she truly cared about protecting vulnerable kids she wouldn’t have kept and shared their private information. And don’t keep coming back here with the “she didn’t break the law” and “she doesn’t owe the kids anything” nonsense. Think about the utter hypocrisy of saying “I don’t owe your kids anything” and simultaneously presenting yourself as a warrior for our special needs kids.

To add on to this statement, I know of no one who has been "helped" by her nonprofit, but I know of thousands who have been harmed by her nonprofit. Her non-profit is a shield to protect her from criticism of her unethical, terrible actions.
She partners with unethical people and only helps those who can then ally with her in her vendetta against our schools. How much money and time is wasted on Callie's vengence? Too much. She used my kids SPED information for fame, and I'm mad as hell about it.

[Anonymous]

There is still a document on her website that is clearly about my child. There are plenty of identifying details where someone familiar with the school could spend 10 minutes on Google and identify my child.

Reid’s email is not being truthful with the community. While there is not identifying information about the majority of children whose parents received a letter, there are still are plenty who have their private information out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am another lucky parent who got the letter. Where did she post all our kids' data? I just want to see if it is by school and how easy it is to find my kid even without name.

Same question. Where did she post the data? Got my letter today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Medically protected information of minors that she has stolen. I am looking forward to attending her trial and making an impact statement before her sentencing.

Stealing = someone handed you something and sent you on your merry way. lol. Trial. Sentencing. This comment sums up the stupidity of this entire thread, and multiplies it by 50.

+100

There is a poster here who will not stop with the stupidity. Callie is not going to be on trial. No one can make her sign anything about the data. She has said she won't use it. The situation sucks and I'd be bothered but she is not a criminal and she is not going to jail.

I think the point about her signing something is not that someone could "make" her, but if she wanted to seem like she truly was on parents' side--or at least not going to do something nefarious with the data, she could do something more substantial than say "trust me." I agree, she's not going to jail--I think the question is still open about the success of a class action civil suit. Again, I think affected people should talk to an organization who specializes in digital privacy laws to see what their options are--both with addressing FCPS's lack of data security and the fact that a parent is now holding the private data of many children and seems to have done things like post partially redacted accounts. I am a parent of a child in FCPS, but not one who received the letter about this breach, but I am very concerned about this as a parent and a citizen.

No one who specializes in digital privacy is going to help the parents going off like crazy people here. You've misrepresented the facts again and again and some of you come off as if you are mentally ill and are trying to incite a mob to harm another person. Any intelligent professional would immediately identify the problem being the school system. The fact that there are posters identifying themselves as FCPS staff posting ignorant, anti-sns parents diatribes doesn't help.

I personally think an organization who specializes in digital privacy would be very interested in a situation that seems to be the case where a single parent through extensive use of the FOIA process and sloppy data security of a public school system gained access to and doesn't have to release the private data of 35k children. What about that doesn't sound 100% mission-aligned for them? It doesn't matter that some parents who are angry say something on an anonymous forum--what matters is this is a deeply problematic situation that we need to have better laws around and need to explore potential consequences currently available for individuals who take advantage of the lack of data security.

These laws already exist if the data is stolen. It’s hard to put a law around data being willingly given. That would risk someone changing their minds and retroactively saying they didn’t mean to give it up. Very easy to cross over into entrapment. Even with good intentions, way too many opportunities for unintended consequences. That is why the burden is on the organization to protect the data in the first place, a concept that is so simple and full of common sense. But perhaps too much common sense for fcps and some of their constituents.

Thank you for this follow up. I'm the PP and there's a good chance you think of me as a person who is one of the "crazy" parents on this thread, but I never intended to misrepresent facts or incite anyone--nor do I think I did. I just initially thought my child was impacted and was quickly writing responses as I was trying to make sense of a confusing and upsetting situation by looking at Oettinger's website and articles to make sense of receipt/use of others' private data. I was not at all comfortable that the couple of posted redacted files were private enough--they seem to me to be sharing things without consent.

But I do appreciate your follow-up here--because an earlier legal poster just made lots of quips about 'there being no laws' etc. with no explanations and when a layperson like me looks at Virginia law around privacy it does look like what she did was illegal. But your response seems thoughtful and makes sense to me. I still think people concerned should consult with lawyers to find out because it still doesn't seem right that everyone just has to trust she hasn't further shared the data and has kept it secure etc.).

In response to your follow-up about better laws for the receiver not being possible: couldn't we reasonably create some more narrow responsibilities for the receiver just in the FOIA process if they inadvertently get other's private data in their request? Like if the sharer made a mistake and notifies the recipient they have some responsibilities? I mean, the likelihood that no one ever accidentally releases private information again this way seems nil no matter how good the protections get. And since it seems to be out that the FOIA process could be abused to try to get data it seems like it would invite more unethical and/or illegal behavior and even more strain onto schools etc. Or even outside of FOIA-- that if you get a notification that data you accidentally received is protected under FERPA you're required to not share it with others even if you are not originally subject to FERPA?

I'm thinking of this as in addition to better data security on the part of the institutions like schools that are supposed to protect private information. Wouldn't it makes sense for there be more responsibilities associated with FOIA instead of it all just being about what we have a right to?

[Anonymous]

I’m really concerned about my severely anxious child finding out about this. I have to hide this letter and make sure they don’t overhear me talking about this. My kid would go off the deep end and we’ve worked so hard to reduce self-harm. I’m absolutely gutted over this. More so about my kid finding out and the repercussions of that discovery.

[Anonymous]

Anybody see FCPS SEPTA's joke of an official statement? They clearly speak out against FCPS for the data breach, and say nothing of Callie's immortal, unethical, unprofessional, damaging actions since they "cannot speak out against an individual." That doesn't make sense because they frequently make comments and posts "speaking out" about individual teachers/staff who they claim to be inadequate and call out individual FCPS employees very frequently. It also does not make sense because SEPTA is supposed to support what is best for children, and clearly what Callie did is not in the best interest of children (or their families...or the education system).

Parents, be aware of SEPTA as they are biased and are fully supporting Callie. She is one of them. They are not trustworthy and are not a reliable source of information. They have an agenda which is only to be against FCPS-not to advocate for what is right for children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m really concerned about my severely anxious child finding out about this. I have to hide this letter and make sure they don’t overhear me talking about this. My kid would go off the deep end and we’ve worked so hard to reduce self-harm. I’m absolutely gutted over this. More so about my kid finding out and the repercussions of that discovery.

I pray that she does not find out. Do everything that you can to protect her.

If she does find out (from a friend, news etc) you should document any anxiety that she does have. Therapist visits, visits to the pediatrician. If she is harmed by this in the way that you fear is possible, you will need to establish it with evidence if there is ever a legal proceeding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anybody see FCPS SEPTA's joke of an official statement? They clearly speak out against FCPS for the data breach, and say nothing of Callie's immortal, unethical, unprofessional, damaging actions since they "cannot speak out against an individual." That doesn't make sense because they frequently make comments and posts "speaking out" about individual teachers/staff who they claim to be inadequate and call out individual FCPS employees very frequently. It also does not make sense because SEPTA is supposed to support what is best for children, and clearly what Callie did is not in the best interest of children (or their families...or the education system).

Parents, be aware of SEPTA as they are biased and are fully supporting Callie. She is one of them. They are not trustworthy and are not a reliable source of information. They have an agenda which is only to be against FCPS-not to advocate for what is right for children.

I strongly suspect that you are a certain employee at Gatehouse. Stop trying to demonize Septa.

Septa had worked very hard to be a collaborative organization with the school staff. They have acted in good faith and are solutions-focused. Callie is not reflective of Septa! SEPTA also a volunteer organization and the leaders all have children with severe disabilities.

Read their entire statement and you will see why they are not leading a legal charge.

“We have received questions regarding why the actions of the individual are not addressed in this statement. SEPTA's mission is to empower and connect families, students, and educators to ensure students with disabilities develop to their full potential as individuals and community members. As an organization, taking an official position on the actions of a private individual is outside the scope of our mission. We have also received questions about SEPTA facilitating legal action. This is also outside of our scope and abilities as a PTA.

I realize this may not be sufficient for many, but we will continue to do our best to advocate for our students, families, and staff for accountability, transparency, and engagement from FCPS in addressing the current incident and moving forward. I ask for your patience, especially as we enter winter break. We are a volunteer organization and we will be focusing on our families during the break. If we have time-sensitive updates to share, we certainly will do so, but many of our next steps with FCPS will likely occur in the new year once school is back in session.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Need to get this on the news. If book bans and parents rights make the news, this should. Will be reaching out to every news outlet. This is so ANTI parents rights. Youngkin should go crazy about this and the attorney general for VA as well.

You're right, Callie totally violated parents' rights to determine what information about their child is posted publicly.

Stop selling a false narrative. This is dis-information.

DP. She did have all of the unredacted files and chose what to redact. She chose what information was released without any consent from the parents.

No child specific data was posted. Thanks.

Did she have consent from the parents who she released the redacted information from is my question? There at least seems to be some child-level data even if the names aren't included. And even for the higher level data doesn't she need permission from parents to compile and report that? And if not legally, don't you think ethically?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Medically protected information of minors that she has stolen. I am looking forward to attending her trial and making an impact statement before her sentencing.

Stealing = someone handed you something and sent you on your merry way. lol. Trial. Sentencing. This comment sums up the stupidity of this entire thread, and multiplies it by 50.

+100

There is a poster here who will not stop with the stupidity. Callie is not going to be on trial. No one can make her sign anything about the data. She has said she won't use it. The situation sucks and I'd be bothered but she is not a criminal and she is not going to jail.

I think the point about her signing something is not that someone could "make" her, but if she wanted to seem like she truly was on parents' side--or at least not going to do something nefarious with the data, she could do something more substantial than say "trust me." I agree, she's not going to jail--I think the question is still open about the success of a class action civil suit. Again, I think affected people should talk to an organization who specializes in digital privacy laws to see what their options are--both with addressing FCPS's lack of data security and the fact that a parent is now holding the private data of many children and seems to have done things like post partially redacted accounts. I am a parent of a child in FCPS, but not one who received the letter about this breach, but I am very concerned about this as a parent and a citizen.

No one who specializes in digital privacy is going to help the parents going off like crazy people here. You've misrepresented the facts again and again and some of you come off as if you are mentally ill and are trying to incite a mob to harm another person. Any intelligent professional would immediately identify the problem being the school system. The fact that there are posters identifying themselves as FCPS staff posting ignorant, anti-sns parents diatribes doesn't help.

I personally think an organization who specializes in digital privacy would be very interested in a situation that seems to be the case where a single parent through extensive use of the FOIA process and sloppy data security of a public school system gained access to and doesn't have to release the private data of 35k children. What about that doesn't sound 100% mission-aligned for them? It doesn't matter that some parents who are angry say something on an anonymous forum--what matters is this is a deeply problematic situation that we need to have better laws around and need to explore potential consequences currently available for individuals who take advantage of the lack of data security.

An individual didn't take advantage of the lack of data security.

You keep inserting inflammatory and inaccurate language to try to get a mob behind you. It just makes you look crazy.

The problem in this country is the lack of concern large organizations have for our data and that our lawmakers are doing nothing to look out for us.

I really am not trying to do that at all. I've been spending the past few days trying to make sense of the situation. I don't want a mob to go after anyone. I want better data protection for my kids--both from the schools and from a parent who seems to have accessed private data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Medically protected information of minors that she has stolen. I am looking forward to attending her trial and making an impact statement before her sentencing.

You are ridiculous. This is not going to happen. She didn't steal the information btw.

I'm not happy with the situation of not knowing what's happening with the data, but I agree there's no evidence she stole this information.

[Anonymous]

Just throwing this out there as a potential angle for legal action. Given that info has been posted on her website, shared with a “news” site and posted on that website as well, could there be grounds for FTC violations? There is a federal rule on children’s privacy called COPPA. It mostly pertains to websites gathering info on kids, but there is also a lot about what can be done with kids’ info even if obtained legally. Just a thought.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-coppa-frequently-asked-questions

[Anonymous]

I apologize if this information is available somewhere in this thread—I can’t read the whole thing. I just received a letter today saying that my child’s information was part of this leak. Where exactly did this woman publish the information to? Thanks for any info!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anybody see FCPS SEPTA's joke of an official statement? They clearly speak out against FCPS for the data breach, and say nothing of Callie's immortal, unethical, unprofessional, damaging actions since they "cannot speak out against an individual." That doesn't make sense because they frequently make comments and posts "speaking out" about individual teachers/staff who they claim to be inadequate and call out individual FCPS employees very frequently. It also does not make sense because SEPTA is supposed to support what is best for children, and clearly what Callie did is not in the best interest of children (or their families...or the education system).

Parents, be aware of SEPTA as they are biased and are fully supporting Callie. She is one of them. They are not trustworthy and are not a reliable source of information. They have an agenda which is only to be against FCPS-not to advocate for what is right for children.

I strongly suspect that you are a certain employee at Gatehouse. Stop trying to demonize Septa.

Septa had worked very hard to be a collaborative organization with the school staff. They have acted in good faith and are solutions-focused. Callie is not reflective of Septa! SEPTA also a volunteer organization and the leaders all have children with severe disabilities.

Read their entire statement and you will see why they are not leading a legal charge.

“We have received questions regarding why the actions of the individual are not addressed in this statement. SEPTA's mission is to empower and connect families, students, and educators to ensure students with disabilities develop to their full potential as individuals and community members. As an organization, taking an official position on the actions of a private individual is outside the scope of our mission. We have also received questions about SEPTA facilitating legal action. This is also outside of our scope and abilities as a PTA.

I realize this may not be sufficient for many, but we will continue to do our best to advocate for our students, families, and staff for accountability, transparency, and engagement from FCPS in addressing the current incident and moving forward. I ask for your patience, especially as we enter winter break. We are a volunteer organization and we will be focusing on our families during the break. If we have time-sensitive updates to share, we certainly will do so, but many of our next steps with FCPS will likely occur in the new year once school is back in session.”

I am a FCPS parent who has been a very vocal critic throughout this thread about someone who claims to be an advocate for parents posting publicly about/sharing information about private data without parent consent, but their statement looks fine to me.