LA GRANDE — La Grande High School students enrolled in an online language arts class on Friday, Sept. 18, received a jolt.

The students heard two young people who were not students in the class but had sneaked in and spoke using vulgar language in a virtual setting. The students also posted vulgar language.

The individuals who could not be seen but had young voices, were immediately blocked from the class, said La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza.

The superintendent said the Union County Sheriff’s Office has been notified of the incident and the school district will consider pressing charges if the individuals responsible are identified.

Mendoza said letters were sent to parents of all the students in the language arts class. The letter explains what happened and apologized to parents.

The culprits used a link they had received to enter the class. Mendoza said the course’s teacher mistakenly let the youths in, not realizing they were not students taking the class.

The class was one being taught as part of the La Grande School District’s Comprehensive Distance Learning program. All La Grande School District classes are now being taught online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The class is taught via the Google Meets platform.

The superintendent said that computer forensic work is now being conducted by the school district to help solve this case.

“We are investigating where this originated from,’’ Mendoza said.

The superintendent said he his very upset with what happened,

“This is not good, I am not happy,’’ he said. “I am deeply sorry that this took place.’’

Mendoza said that steps are being taken to tighten security and accountability to prevent a similar disruption from happening in the future. One such step will involve requiring teachers to admit students to their classes one at a time.