Poway Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court of San Diego County

Issue

We decide here whether a claim form submitted by a minor to a public school district under the California Tort Claims Act (hereafter the Claims Act) (Gov. Code, § 910 et seq.), is protected against disclosure under (1) certain exemptions in the Public Records Act (§ 6254, subd. (b) or 6255), or (2) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (hereafter FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) and/or Education Code section 49060. We conclude these provisions of law do not protect the information from disclosure..

Factual and Procedural Background

As part of a hazing incident at a high school in the Poway Unified School District (District) in March 1997, three 16-year-old sophomores brutally sodomized a 15-year-old freshman student with a broomstick. After the perpetrators pleaded guilty, they were sentenced in juvenile court. In proceedings attended by the media, the victim’s identity was disclosed.

The media provided wide coverage of the sentencing court’s comments excoriating the District for tolerating a climate of abusive initiation practices. In addition, the parents of the perpetrators agreed to the public release of confidential juvenile court records and files…