Still Waiting: A Transparency Update from Bibb County Schools and the State Superintendent
Pursuing transparency in Bibb County Schools: delayed records, state deflections, and a public call to fund legal action to uncover the truth.
Nearly two months have passed since I formally submitted an Open Records Request to the Bibb County School District, seeking documents related to the settlement involving Student J.H. at Alexander II Magnet School. What was initially promised for March 28 has since become a prolonged waiting game.
The School District’s Delay
After confirming acceptance of the estimated charges on March 14, the District’s legal representatives have since offered a series of delays. First citing scheduling issues due to spring break, then raising vague concerns about “various federal student privacy protections,” the District is now stating it is still "assessing the intersection" of these protections and the confidentiality language within the settlement agreement itself. We now have no estimated timeline, just an open promise to keep us updated.
In the most recent email from an attorney for the District, dated April 10, she wrote:
"The District is unable to produce any responsive documents to you today related to the settlement. Our client is assessing the intersection of various federal student privacy protections, as well as confidentiality language contained within the settlement agreement itself, to make determinations regarding the producibility of documents which may be responsive to your request. I will keep you updated as the District continues its review and analysis."
I'm at a loss for words. This seems to my simple non-lawyer self to be prima facie absurd. How can any terms of any agreement ever override state law? Much less take over a month to figure that out?
The State Superintendent's Response: Not Our Lane
In parallel, the team representing Alexander II parents also reached out to the State School Superintendent, Richard Woods, and State Board of Education member Frank Griffin Jr., seeking their intervention regarding the reassignment of the school’s principal and vice principal. Their official response, dated April 14 and signed by Chief Legal Officer Stacey Suber-Drake, was clear:
“The allegations… are outside of the purview of the State School Superintendent and State Board of Education.”
Citing Georgia’s doctrine of “local control,” the letter deflects any responsibility to intervene or investigate, instead pointing concerned parents toward the Georgia Attorney General’s Open Government Mediation Program for further recourse.
Read the entire document:
https://l.kerryhatcher.com/doeresp
We’ve Requested State Review
In response to continued delays and legal deflections, we have formally submitted a request for assistance to the Georgia Attorney General’s Open Government Mediation Program. This program was established to help citizens who believe their rights under the Open Records Act or Open Meetings Act have been violated.
According to the AG’s office, the mediation program serves as an informal and voluntary means to resolve disputes, and aims to ensure government transparency without requiring a lawsuit. Anyone can request assistance by submitting a completed form and relevant documentation to the Department of Law for review.
More details are available on the official website.
We are hopeful that this additional step will pressure the District to comply with its legal obligations.
Where We Go From Here
This isn’t just about one student or one settlement. It’s about whether public institutions can ignore parents, skirt transparency laws, and silence legitimate concerns with legal red tape.
To move forward, legal action may become necessary to compel the release of public records and enforce state transparency laws. But legal action isn't cheap — and I can’t do this alone.
💥 Help Us Fund the Fight
If you believe in accountability, if you value public transparency, and if you want to help protect the integrity of our schools, please consider supporting our legal efforts.
🟢 Contribute here:
👉 kerryhatcher.com/alex2/#/portal/support
Your support goes directly toward legal costs, document fees, and ensuring this battle doesn’t get buried by bureaucracy. Anything we don't use will be donated to the GA First Amendment Foundation.
Thank you for standing with us!
— Kerry
