Elmhurst D205 Appears More Secretive On York Teacher

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 on Wednesday declined to give the facts of the case against a teacher who the school board reprimanded.

In response to Patch's public records request, the district released the board's "notice of remedy" against York High School teacher Kelly DeLoriea. It stated that she released confidential information about a student in February on social media, but provided no details.

This is a far cry from how the district handled a Patch inquiry about a Bryan Middle School substitute teacher in early 2022.

At the time, the substitute was accused of requiring students to do physical exercises if they failed to wear their masks properly.

After getting a complaint, the substitute met with her superiors and received a written warning.

In that case, the district released the complaint against the substitute, the principal's emails to the teacher and the teacher's response.

The detailed response from the district was consistent with those in recent years about disciplinary matters at Hinsdale High School District 86 and Lyons Township High School.

In an email Thursday, Patch asked the district why it apparently treated DeLoriea's situation differently from the substitute's.

In its letter to Patch on Wednesday, the district indicated that it withheld certain documents because they were preliminary or confidential attorney-client communications, both exceptions under the state's open records law.

However, communications from the district to DeLoriea are not preliminary drafts or notes. They would be presumably final.

As for attorney-client privilege, that exemption applies to a lawyer's advice to a client. Communication with an adversary is not private advice to a client.

In its notice of remedy, the district warned DeLoriea would be disciplined, including possibly being fired, if she again released private student information in violation of the law.

In February, DeLoriea, an American Studies teacher, wrote on a local Facebook page about how the child of her critic, Tom Chavez, attended her class for a couple of days.

Patch published a story last week about the case and DeLoriea supporters' defense of her.

Here are examples in which other school districts released detailed information in disciplinary cases involving teachers:

Hinsdale Teacher Damaged Signs With Car: School

Hinsdale South Teacher Defends Herself In Slur Accusation

Why LTHS Teacher Got In Trouble: Records

LT Teacher Angrily Confronted Colleague: Memo