By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



An attorney for the Jefferson County Board of Education said parents should not worry about a memo they received regarding a lawsuit.

Students and parents at North Jefferson Middle School received a memo from the school dated Dec. 17 informing them that attorneys are collecting information for a lawsuit. It involves the March 28, 2008, bus crash in which Bryan Elementary School students were heading to Chattanooga on a field trip.

The students, then fifth-graders at Bryan Elementary School, are now sixth-graders, most of whom attend North Jefferson Middle School.

Jefferson County Board of Education attorney Burgin Kent said the memo issued to students and parents is simply informing them that the attorneys on both sides of the lawsuit are gathering information for their cases.

Kent said it is not a class-action lawsuit, but rather involves an individual. Kent also clarified that the board of education is not involved in the lawsuit, but is simply obeying the court order to provide student records.

“We sent a memo out to all of the parents and students just so they will know the records are subpoenaed. It’s not a big deal,” said Kent. “It’s pretty standard when a lawsuit is filed. They’re just gathering information.”

Kent said what made this situation a little different is the sheer amount of information that the attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant are requesting.

“With that many students, we had a hard time trying to find out which information to get out,” Kent said. “So we just sent it all out.”

That said, Kent added that the records passed along will not include some personal information.

According to the memo, the board of education will delete students’ Social Security numbers. It also stated that students’ academic and achievement records will not be included.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Right requires the board of education to notify parents and students of the subpoena before the records are released to the attorneys, according to the memo. Parents and students were not required to take any action.

The accident happened on March 28. Three buses chartered by Adventure Bus Charter were taking Bryan Elementary fifth-graders to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.

One of the buses overturned on Interstate 59 near Springville when the driver reportedly suffered from a medical issue. About 40 students were on the bus. At least one student, Brittany Purvis, and one teacher, Amy King, were seriously injured in the accident.