This story was originally printed Oct. 7, 2026, in the Daily Post.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A mother has sued the Palo Alto Unified School District over her son’s third grade report card that said he needs to work on respecting other students.
Mother Weiwei Luo said the comments on her son’s report card were based on a game of tag at recess, when her son stuck his tongue out another student who kicked him at Walter Hays Elementary School in October 2025.
Teacher Holly Harrison said Luo’s son is “working on his responses to peers when he is frustrated or upset,” according to the lawsuit filed on Monday.
“He is developing his ability to listen to others’ perspectives and collaborate with humility. We will keep working on this!” Harrison wrote on the report card.
Luo asked the district to change the report card on June 25. The district denied the challenge, so Luo appealed to the board and had a hearing on Aug. 18.
Luo said she wanted her attorney Marjorie Ouyang to attend the hearing, but Assistant Superintendent Yolanda Conaway removed Ouyang from the board’s virtual meeting and wouldn’t tell them the time of the hearing.
After a hearing with no attorney, the board denied Luo’s appeal with a 4-0 vote in closed session.
“The (report card) comments reflected the teacher’s observations, were within her competence, were substantiated and were not misleading in the context of the full report card,” the district said in its written decision, according to the lawsuit.
Luo said she requested an audio recording or transcript of the board’s hearing, but the district didn’t have the materials.
Luo is suing the district for allegedly denying her a fair hearing. She wants a judge to order the district to have another hearing and to pay her attorney fees.
Superintendent Jason Glass said yesterday that student privacy laws prevent him from discussing any individual student’s records.
“California law and (board policy) give families a defined process to challenge a grade or record, including a meeting with the superintendent’s designee, the opportunity to appeal to the board, and the right to add a written statement to the record. The district follows that process and will respond to the petition in court,” Glass said in an email yesterday.
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