Parents livid after learning Klein ISD teacher gave questionnaire asking students if they've been vaccinated
HOUSTON - Do you think it’s appropriate for a teacher to ask your child his or her vaccination status? It happened in Klein ISD, leaving at least one family furious.
On the first day of school, yesterday, a Klein Oak High School teacher gave her students a questionnaire asking if the students have been vaccinated against COVID-19. One mother we spoke to, who does not want to be identified, told us she sent an email to the teacher, principal, and the Klein ISD Superintendent.
"It was none of her business and I did put that all in caps," the mom said.
SIGN UP FOR FOX 26 HOUSTON EMAIL ALERTS
The Klein Oak High School teacher apparently gave her class a list of five questions to be filled out in class.
The questionnaire asked the students to tell three things about themselves. It also asked were they virtual or in-person last year and if they are vaccinated.
"I think it’s not an appropriate question to ask because if she got sick what is she planning to do to blame the unvaccinated kids?" the mom asks. "Is she going to stay away from all the kids that answered that question that are unvaccinated?"
Making the Case: HIPAA confusion
As the push for COVID-19 vaccinations intensifies many are making the case that sharing their status is a violation of their privacy. Wednesday, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told a reporter he was violating her HIPAA rights by asking if she was vaccinated. The News Edge legal analyst Charles Adams addressed the confusion and explained how HIPAA works.
The upset mom says her son, who’s a Freshman at Klein Oak, felt he would be treated differently based on how he answered.
"This vaccination is political," the mom said. "To me, it seems too political. She said it was for her personal record and if she happened to get sick she had an idea of where to start."
According to the family, the teacher told the class she was asking because she has cancer.
"I’m sorry she has cancer but that doesn’t give her an excuse to give the question out," says the mom we interviewed.
Klein ISD says it is aware of the teacher’s questionnaire and says it's against policy for teachers to ask students their vaccination status.
According to the district, teachers received training over the summer and were told they are not allowed to ask students if they received the COVID vaccine. A spokesperson for the district says the matter is now before Human Resources and says Klein ISD is calling parents of the students involved to apologize.