Kevin Niehaus, a former teacher at Ockerman Middle School in Boone County, has been charged with 10 misdemeanor counts after allegedly using the district’s internal student database software, Infinite Campus, to retrieve personal information about students.
The charges are outlined in court documents, which describe an investigation into alleged inappropriate relations between Niehaus and students.
“The defendant was found to have used the Infinite Campus database to research students’ personal information,” according to the documents. “In one case, the locker location and combination was used to place a gift for one thirteen year old student prior to the first day of school without her knowledge or consent.”
The incident was caught on video, and Niehaus’ activity was logged in the Infinite Campus data history. The school resource officer later uncovered other searches.
“Over twenty searches that had no known educational purpose were found on at least ten individual students that are not in the defendant’s class, or had ever been in the
defendant’s class and were not in the defendants current grade level,” the documents state.
Infinite Campus is protected by federal student privacy laws, as it serves as a clearing house for student information. Teachers and staff members are trained on how to use the database and its permitted uses.
Niehaus has been charged with unlawful access to a computer. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 24.