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ROY — The Roy High School teacher who assigned a questionable survey to students has returned to the classroom and will not be terminated, but will face corrective action, Weber School District officials said Friday.
Candace Thurgood gave the survey to 11th-grade students as part of an Adult Roles class. She was placed on leave earlier this week after school administrators received complaints.
District officials met with Thurgood Friday morning, according to a news release from the district. The district concluded the survey was inappropriate and illegal.
"Even though topics such as human sexuality are discussed as part of the curriculum, state and federal laws prohibit administering surveys to students that cause a student to reveal information about the student’s sexual behavior, orientation, or attitudes, or illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior," the release said in part.
"The survey that was given asked students to reveal these very things. So not only was the questionnaire inappropriate, it was a violation of state and federal law."
The district acknowledged Thurgood had been using the survey for several years "to allow students to conduct a self-assessment on potentially risky teen behaviors." However, there was no malicious intent, district spokesman Lane Findlay said.
Thurgood fully cooperated in the investigation, the district said, which included interviews with students, parents and teachers. She will not be terminated, but district officials will take "appropriate corrective action," according to the release. That could include verbal counseling, written reprimand, probation, suspension, or a combination of those. The exact action taken will not be made public due to privacy policies, the release said.
A group of former students gathered in the rain Friday morning to support Thurgood. They said they were thrilled that she had been reinstated.
"I never saw a problem with the quiz when I took it my junior year, and I just graduated last year," one former student said.
Another said, "I say get rid of the quiz, not the teacher."
The district will do just that. The quiz will never be used again, according to Findlay.
"Our apologies to those students and parents. The survey wasn't appropriate. It was really probing as far as questions were asked. It has no place in the classroom," he said.
District leaders expressed appreciation for public support for Thurgood and acknowledged she is a well-liked and respected teacher.
"We'll learn from this and move on," Findlay said.
The questionnaire was removed from the school portal but copies remained posted to several websites, including scarymommy.com. The 30-question survey asked students questions from drug use to sexual activity and abortion and originated from a 1967 Ann Landers survey about sex and drugs.
District officials are taking steps to ensure the survey is not used again, according to the release.
