Misuse of email for 'Mexican Lives Matter' investigated

Perris Union High School District officials are working to improve the security of the district's email system after someone emailed all students at Paloma Valley High School Wednesday night, calling for a "Mexican Lives Matter" Day at the school.

The sender has been identified as a student, said Candace Reines, assistant superintendent of PUHSD. She said the student discovered the naming convention of the email list for all Paloma Valley students and was able to access it because of a flaw or glitch in the system.

"The email groups are set up in such a way that a person shouldn't be able to do that," Reines said. "That system broke and it has now been fixed. Even if a person knew the naming convention of an email group, they can't access it. For some reason, this one got through. We're looking into it on the tech end."

According to a post by Paloma Valley officials on the school's Facebook page today, the "unauthorized email had links to music videos and called for a 'Mexican Lives Matter' Day. This was an unauthorized message and violates our Acceptable Use Policy for Internet use."

The email included a flier that urged students to wear white and bring Mexican flags to school on Sept. 15 to coincide with Mexican Independence Day, which is the following day. According to Reines, the student sending the email has been interviewed and "that student has no actual plans" for a demonstration.

"The District provides students and staff with email accounts for the purpose of school-related communication," the statement reads on the Paloma Valley Facebook page. "This was not a school-sponsored event or activity, or that of any school club or organization on campus.

"Measures have been taken to block that sender's/organization, and the school is investigating the matter to prevent future misuse of school email."