Story is updated below.

Birmingham Township’s Chad Williams has filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Education against Unionville-Chadds Ford District Superintendent John Sanville. He said Sanville has refused to address his concerns about what Williams calls an illegal survey conducted at the high school, and he went so far as to call Sanville a liar on a radio talk show.

Williams was reacting to concerns that ninth-grade students were illegally surveyed about sexual activity without first getting parental permission during a health class on safe dating. Those classes — held from 2016 to 2023 — included presenters from the Crime Victim Center of Chester County conducting the surveys.

What brought the classes and surveys to the concern of some parents was that the person giving the lesson in the spring of 2023 was Deni Tobin, a self-described “queer witch” and a violence prevention educator.

Williams said in an email to Chadds Ford Live that “the district admits that it violated state and federal law over multiple years by allowing a third party to conduct unlawful surveys of minors without parental notice or consent. Yet there will be no discipline, and John Sanville doesn’t have to explain why his ‘investigation’ in May 2023 failed to turn this up, why he claimed at the time that concerned parents were spreading “misinformation,”…when the district admitted - in writing that they violated the law.”

According to Williams, “Sanville told [School Board President Victoria] Baratta that he conducted an ‘extensive investigation’ and determined that the concerns were ‘unfounded’ and based on ‘misinformation.’ It turns out that he didn’t look into anything or, if he did, he must have discovered the surveys and he lied to Baratta when he told her the concerns that parents raised were ‘unfounded’ and ‘misinformation.’”

Chadds Ford Live asked Williams if he had a copy of the survey.

“No,” he said, “they won’t give them to me. I requested it in May 2023 and again on April 29. They’re refusing to give them to me, even though the PPRA requires that they allow parents to review them.”

Chadds Ford Live also asked the district for a copy of the survey. The district declined saying since it didn’t administer the survey, it doesn’t have a copy, and that we should ask the Crime Victims;’ Center. The center declined to provide the survey saying it was against their policy. (See update below.)

Williams said he reached out to Sanville, as well as Baratta and School Board Vice President Erin Talbert, none of whom ever got back to him.

Chadds Ford Live also contacted Sanville, Baratta, and Talbert, but it was Communications Director & Community Relations Nikki Laroya who responded.

“From 2016-2023, the Chester County Crime Victims Center provided lessons on safe dating to students at Unionville High School,” Laroya said. “All presenters from the CVC completed training to present from a script in schools in addition to required clearances. The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District policy 235.1 governs the administration of surveys to students. The district has investigated whether the survey policy was followed during these presentations, and has communicated those findings with Mr. Williams, the School Board and district administration.”

It's policy 235.1 that Williams asserts was not followed. One educator, Unionville High School Principal Amy Jenkins, concurs. Jenkins was the only person who responded to Williams’ queries, he said.

“In review of the past practices related to the safe dating lessons conducted by CVC and the surveys administered in the classroom,” Jenkins said, “I have determined that Board Policy 235.1 was not followed, and necessary parental notice should have been issued in advance of such surveys consistent with the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.”

She went on to say that permission for the survey was given by a former principal and, since CVC is no longer involved in the class, “this is no longer an active issue; however, the district will ensure moving forward adherence to its policies and applicable federal law.”

According to Williams, who is a lawyer, the district violated “The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment that prohibits surveys of children on certain topics (including sexual matters), without prior notice and consent from parents. The PPRA is also incorporated into school policy 235.1. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits the dissemination of personal identifying information, like student ID numbers and phone numbers. The district admitted that it allowed CVC employees to survey students and collect this information over multiple years without disclosing the surveys or obtaining consent from parents.”

Williams said while on a radio talk show on May 22, (The Dawn Stensland Show on WPHT) that the admission from the principal was “a long time in coming. This has been a year-long battle for transparency and accountability in the district…It’s really a matter of parental rights.”

Williams praised the district for its academics but said some things began to change in 2020.

“As parents are starting to take notice, beginning with the pandemic, there are some things happening in public schools that are not appropriate, parents are being sort of pushed out. I see it as a leadership problem not so much as a matter with teachers. It starts at the top with the superintendent,” Williams said.

At that point, Williams called Sanville’s honesty into question.

“He lies, he conceals information, and he paints anyone who doesn’t fall in line as being on the margins or spreading misinformation,” Williams said on Stensland’s show. “And that’s what happened in this situation.”

According to Williams, what comes next will be up to the school board.

“I’ve made multiple good faith offers to sit down with Baratta and Erin Talbert to discuss my concerns and review the evidence I’ve uncovered of serious misconduct and violations of law by John Sanville and the school district’s solicitor. My preference would be for the school board to meet with me and try to find a resolution, but so far, they won’t respond to me, and no one will meet with me,” he said.

UPDATE:

In a follow-up phone call, Ashley JM. Shea the COO of the Crime Victim’s Center, did send links to what she believes is the survey. It can be found here, but readers must answer the various questions before moving on to the next.

She also said the survey is based on a CDC survey, found here.

End Update