Inquiries by the Department of Education's Office of Special Investigations are meant to protect students: the office takes on allegations of improper behavior by school staff, such as physical or verbal abuse of children.

But recent investigations at two different city schools have raised the possibility that the office violated students' rights and undermined parental authority. If anything, the incidents exposed a lack of protocol for communicating with families.

At one school, Central Park East I, an elementary school in Manhattan, young children were interviewed by investigators looking into allegations of corporal punishment by a teacher. The children were questioned without parental permission, and parents did not receive any notice of the questioning from school officials afterward. Instead, parents found out from their children — if they told them. 

A similar situation has been unfolding at Park Slope Collegiate, a secondary school in Brooklyn. There, the principal, Jill Bloomberg, is under investigation for allegedly recruiting students for political activities. (Bloomberg, who denies the allegations, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education in response.) 

So far, parent association members said that seven students, all girls ranging from eighth to twelfth grade, were questioned by officials with the Office of Special Investigations. As with the case of Central Park East I, parents were not asked permission first, nor were they notified by school officials after the fact. 

Parents at both schools said they believe parents should be notified, and students should have the opportunity to have a parent present for questioning. They said that children being pulled out of class and questioned by authority figures, who may be strangers, about sensitive issues could be disconcerting for kids.  

Adam Stevens, whose eighth-grade daughter was questioned by investigators at Park Slope Collegiate, said he found out because his daughter texted him.  

"I’m angry," said Stevens, "and I feel ready to fight back. I feel heartened by the fact that I have a good group of parents at the school that have taken a very strong and uncompromising stand around this."

Stevens said that the nature of the questions were particularly unsettling. Bloomberg, the school's principal, is known for being outspoken on issues of racial injustice and for instilling a culture of civic engagement at the school. Many parents and students have rallied around her while she is under investigation, and they feel that both Bloomberg's and their own freedom of speech is at risk. 

"My daughter was questioned about her political activity and mine, about marches in our city and meetings in our home — matters completely unrelated to school," said Stevens. "I think that there’s a harm that’s been done to students by bringing them in and making them feel that their involvement and their family’s involvement in anti-racist political activity makes them an object of scrutiny."

Education officials said that a school administrator, guidance counselor or parent or guardian must be present for any interview of a student by the Office of Special Investigations, but there is no obligation that a parent be present. At Park Slope Collegiate, parents said the interviews were conducted by two investigators and the superintendent, with whom the students had no relationship. 

Education officials also said that students may decline to be interviewed or answer specific questions, though it is unclear if students are ever informed of these rights by investigators.