Beaverton parent, Jeff Myers of Save Oregon Schools has filed a lawsuit against the Beaverton School District over student privacy, parental rights, and a public school system that is increasingly operating without transparency or consent.

In January 2025, Beaverton School District quietly launched a new digital hall pass system (DHP) at eight of its middle schools. Students are now required to submit digital requests before leaving class for basic needs like using the restroom, going to the nurse, or accessing their locker. Teachers must approve the request, and the system logs the destination, time, and duration of each pass. These records are stored indefinitely in the district's Synergy Student Information System (SIS).

Myers says, “The DHP system is being actively used for behavioral monitoring and intervention. Staff teams regularly analyze student hall pass data to identify "top users" – students who leave class more frequently than average. These students may be flagged and referred to counselors or behavior specialists, often before parents are notified or involved.” Myers became concerned after his daughter displayed anxiety over this system being installed at her school, and decided to file a lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks the court to:

• Immediately suspend the use of the digital hall pass system district-wide;
• Prevent further collection and analysis of DHP data;
• Require the district to submit an inventory of the data collected through the system;
• Permanently purge all previously collected data;
• Affirm the rights of parents to be notified and provide meaningful consent before schools launch systems that collect and/or act on sensitive behavioral data.

Myers’ lawsuit argues that the district's actions violate both federal and Oregon law. Key claims include:

• The Fourteenth Amendment: Parents have a constitutional right to direct the upbringing and medical decisions of their children.
• ORS 336.184 & ORS 336.187: These laws require schools to notify parents and provide opt-out rights for behavioral or health-related screenings.
• ORS 326.565: Governs student educational records and restricts access to those with a legitimate educational interest.

The district has tried to justify the system under the doctrine of in loco parentis, but the lawsuit claims public schools are government actors and cannot override parental rights without due process.

Myers says: “The district has positioned this system as a solution to behavioral challenges in middle schools. But what they’re not saying is that these challenges were in large part created by their own policies. Over a decade ago, Beaverton phased out traditional disciplinary frameworks in favor of restorative justice, which has often led to inconsistent enforcement and a breakdown in accountability. Rather than confront this reality and reevaluate their discipline model, the district has doubled down—choosing to surveil every student instead.

“These systems are being marketed as modern tools for classroom management. But in practice, they function as behavioral surveillance networks that track kids in ways most parents are never told about.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The lawsuit states: "This is not a digitized bathroom pass. It’s a behavioral surveillance platform that profiles students without their knowledge, and certainly without ours as parents."

This is not just a Beaverton issue. The DHP system impacts more than 6,400 students and was implemented without any meaningful explanation, opt-out process, or oversight. It’s becoming a nationwide trend to market the system as a tool to control every child, and not provide help to the few who misbehave. “That’s not innovation—it’s institutional overreach,” Myers says. “If your district isn’t using something like this yet, it might be next.”

Myers offers suggestion to parents wanting to question their child's school or school board.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2025-04-23 15:51:09

Last Update: 2025-04-23 14:12:03