Exclusive | Pennsylvania teacher running for Congress slams district’s response to middle schoolers’ TikTok abuse: ‘They chose to hide’

MALVERN, Pa. — Pennsylvania middle-school teacher-turned-GOP congressional candidate Neil Young has been at the forefront of a social-media scandal that enveloped his Chester County middle school, making national headlines this month.

An hour outside of Philly, at the end of the city’s wealthy Main Line, is the suburb of Malvern, Pa., where Great Valley Middle School students carried out an online harassment campaign against their teachers via TikTok.

The New York Times first reported on July 6 that a quarter of the school’s faculty members were victims of this abuse, in which “fake teacher accounts rife with pedophilia innuendo, racist memes, homophobia and made-up sexual hookups among teachers” circulated fraudulent content to TikTok pages hundreds of students follow.

Young, a veteran social studies teacher on sabbatical while running for Congress, is among the victims.

“I’m the guy who was in bed with another teacher,” Young told The Post, describing the fraudulent picture students circulated of him on TikTok. “​​What was done with me is not acceptable.”

Young — who is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which covers Chester County and part of Berks County — is hoping to shine a spotlight on his colleagues who have shared their stories.

“The stuff that was said about some of these other teachers — just an unbelievable lack of empathy from the kids,” Young said, alluding to stories of fellow teachers defamed with insinuations of pedophilia or depicted in “cheapfake” images in sexual situations.

Houlahan — who briefly taught high school chemistry early in her career — addressed the scandal on the House floor last Thursday, calling students’ actions “inappropriate” regardless of circumstance.

“This wasn’t a prank, it was a blatant misuse of social media violating basic rules of human decency.” Houlahan said. “And it’s inappropriate, regardless of a child’s age or whether the school is public, charter or private.”

Houlahan did not acknowledge that her GOP opponent was one of the teachers victimized by fraudulent TikTok posts — something Young was quick to capitalize on.

“She doesn’t acknowledge that her opponent was one of the victims,” Young said.

“Instead she starts with, ‘As a former chemistry teacher,’ Young added. “She quit after one year and didn’t follow through on her Teach for America contract.”

Young’s gripes aren’t only with Houlahan’s handling of the scandal, but the Great Valley School District also.

“Every step of the way, with the opportunity to bring in parents and support teachers, they chose to hide,” he said. “They refused to communicate to the whole district. They tried to do it [in] just isolated groups.”

And Young isn’t the only one who feels this way – just ask the 200+ people who showed up to the Great Valley school board meeting on Monday night demanding answers.

Teacher’s union president Nikki Salvatico was also there to make their position clear: the students’ actions should not be dismissed as protected speech under the First Amendment.

Young said that the district may have been acting on advice from its solicitors that taking serious action against student perpetrators of the social media posts could lead to lawsuits regarding conduct outside the classroom. Still, he feels they missed the mark.

“The opportunity to set a strong precedent that we’re not going to accept this type of behavior, we’re not going to allow it to fall under the umbrella of free speech — that was their opportunity that they lost,” he said.

Courts have traditionally upheld students’ right to protected speech after school hours, such as in the Supreme Court’s “cursing cheerleader” decision back in 2021 — another case involving Pennsylvania teenagers and social media. But in that case, the student in question was posting on her own behalf and not attempting to falsely impersonate others.

Young thinks a handful of students were briefly suspended because teachers remained persistent with both the district and their union — despite both wanting to avoid escalating the situation.

It may be too little too late, per Young, who says the district soured its relationship with faculty and families as a result of poor communication.

“The community feels like they were in the dark. The parents feel like they were in the dark,” Young said. “Teachers feel unsupported.”

As for action to prevent similar abuse in the future, Young says teachers and parents need a seat at the table. He expressed concerns about government-mandated social-media restrictions for children — like Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick’s calls to ban children under 16 from socials — arguing enforcement would be challenging.

But at the top of this teacher’s mind is getting educators involved in the process rather than leaving it to the politicians.

“If legislation’s going to exist, it certainly should have input from teachers,” Young said.