Fact check: Students were not sent home with 'List of Privileges' letter, Delaware school district says
The claim: Elementary school students in Delaware were sent home with a ‘List of Privileges’ letter
A school district in Camden, Delaware, became the center of controversy after parents circulated an image of a “List of Privileges” letter that was purportedly sent home with students at Nellie H. Stokes Elementary School.
The document, which was shared to Facebook on Nov. 18 in a post that generated more than 80 shares in a day, lists 23 “privileges,” such as being white, speaking English fluently, owning a home, feeling safe when walking alone and having access to personal transportation and health insurance.
“This was given out to FIRST GRADERS!!!!” the user captioned the post. “What the heck!? How am I supposed to send my baby boy to school next year?”
The user included a screenshot of a post from First State Update – a site with no bylines that defines itself as a local breaking news platform – asking parents to send a direct message to First State's Facebook page if their child received the “List of Privileges” letter.
The same image was shared by other social media users and Delaware Young Republicans, whose Nov. 18 post accumulated more than 400 shares within a day.
In an email to Paste BN, Delaware Young Republicans claimed the document was given to a student's parent by a teacher, who received it during an in-service training.
"There is a pending FOIA request at the district as to the nature of the training, its cost, and internal correspondence regarding the documents public circulation," the group said.
However, the school district says it looked into the incident and found the claims to be unsubstantiated.
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First State Update, the social media users who shared the image and commenters who claimed to have seen the letter did not return requests for comments.
School district finds no evidence of claim
It’s unclear exactly where the claim originated, but Mike Williams, a spokesman for the Caesar Rodney School District, told Paste BN the district looked into the rumors and determined no student received any such letter.
The elementary school also addressed the matter on its website.
"The Caesar Rodney School District was made aware of a social media post that had gone viral regarding a document alleged to have been given to a first-grade student," the message reads. “The incident in question was investigated, the student’s parent was contacted, and the allegation has been determined to be unfounded."
Similarly, Caesar Rodney School Board President Mike Marasco responded to a Facebook user who shared the claim, writing that the district "is not hiding anything" and the originator of the claim posted a retraction after discussing the matter with him and the superintendent.
“I can assure you it was definitely not a part of any assignment to any student in any grade,” he wrote.
Williams noted the group that originally made the claim has since changed its post.
First State Update has updated its original post requesting parents to send a message if their child received the letter. The page said the claim gained virality on Nov. 17 on a private Facebook page.
“We have received zero response from parents and the original poster of the letter has removed the post from their FB page,” First State Update wrote. “We have been unable to confirm that such a letter was sent out and will therefore not post the photo of the list.”
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Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that elementary school students in Camden, Delaware, were sent home with a "List of Privileges" letter. Caesar Rodney School District says an investigation into the incident found the claim is unfounded. The original poster has retracted their post.
Our fact-check sources:
- Mike Williams, Nov. 18, phone interview with Paste BN
- Nellie Stokes Elementary School, Nov. 18, Important message screen capture
- Nellie Stokes Elementary School, accessed Nov. 18, Home page
- Mike Marasco, Nov. 17, Facebook comment
- First State Update, Nov. 17, Facebook post
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