K.O. v. San Dieguito Union High School District
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Marilyn L. Huff (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff K.O. moved to file the California Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) administrative record and hearing transcripts under seal, arguing they contain sensitive medical, disability, and education records of a minor. The Court granted the motion and directed the Clerk to file the documents under seal.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting Plaintiff's Motion to File Office of Administrative Hearings Record Under Seal“Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiffs request to file the entire OAH administrative record and hearing transcripts under seal without prejudice to the Court modifying this order at a later time or using the information in a written order.” | agree with court The decision follows from the law and the record recited. The order cites controlling Ninth Circuit precedent establishing that 'compelling reasons' exist to seal records containing sensitive information about minors, and notes that the defendant did not oppose the motion. The court's finding that the sensitive references are 'too numerous to redact' supports the decision to seal the entire record rather than attempting partial redaction. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly applies the 'compelling reasons' standard for sealing documents, which is the appropriate standard in the Ninth Circuit. It relies on persuasive district court authority from within the circuit that is consistent with the broader legal framework protecting the privacy of minors' educational and medical records. The court explicitly notes the lack of opposition from the defendant and provides a specific factual basis (the ubiquity of sensitive information) for sealing the entire record rather than redacting it. The reasoning is complete and directly answers the motion.
Opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10
11 K.O., by and through her parents and Case No.: 22-cv-01703-H-BGS 12 guardians ad litem, MIKHAIL and KELLY OGAWA, ORDER: 13 Plaintiff, 14 (1) GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S v. MOTION TO FILE OFFICE OF 15 ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS SAN DIEGUITO UNION HIGH 16 RECORD UNDER SEAL; AND SCHOOL DISTRICT, 17 Defendant. [Doc. No. 14.] 18 (2) DIRECTING THE CLERK TO 19 FILE THE PROPOSED DOCUMENT 20 UNDER SEAL 21 [Doc. No. 15.] 22 23 24 On May 3, 2023, Plaintiff K.O. (“Plaintiff”) filed a motion to file under seal a copy 25 of the California Office of Administrative Hearings’ (“OAH”) administrative record and 26 hearing transcripts. (Doc. No. 14.) On May 8, 2023, Defendant San Dieguito Union High 27 School District submitted a statement of non-opposition to Plaintiff’s motion to seal. (Doc. 28 No. 17.) 1 Plaintiff seeks to seal the OAH administrative record and hearing transcripts because 2 contain the medical, disability, and education records of a minor. (Doc. No. 14-1 at 3 After reviewing the documents in question, the Court concludes that compelling 4 reasons exist to seal the OAH administrative record and hearing transcripts.' See D.L. by 5 Through Lazaro v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., No. 19-cv-00780-GPC-RBB, at *2 (S.D. 6 || Cal. Nov. 1, 2019) (Compelling reasons exist to seal the OAH record because it “contains 7 || references to the learning disability, private educational records, and personally identifiable 8 ||information of a minor, and thus, should be protected”’) (internal quotations omitted); see 9 also JM. v. Oakland Unified Sch. Dist., No. 17-cv-04986-HSG, 2018 WL 6574190, at *8 10 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 13, 2018) (such records are “largely protected from public disclosure by 11 federal and state law”). 12 Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiffs request to file the entire OAH 13 |}administrative record and hearing transcripts under seal without prejudice to the Court 14 || modifying this order at a later time or using the information in a written order. The Court 15 || directs the Clerk to file the proposed documents under seal. (Doc. No. 15.) 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 || DATED: May 9, 2023 lal | | J 18 MARILYN WN. HUF F, Distric ge 19 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 20 21 22 23 24 The prohibited references are “too numerous to redact” given the voluminous nature 25 the OAH administrative record and hearing transcript. See A.B. ex rel. W.F.B. v. San %6 Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., No. C 07-4738 PJH, 2007 WL 2900527, at *] (N.D. Cal. Oct. 2, 2007); see also D.L. by and Through Lazaro v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., No. 19-cv- 27 ||00780-GPC-RBB, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 1, 2019) (finding it appropriate to seal the OAH 28 record without redaction given the ubiquitous nature of sensitive details throughout the record and hearing transcripts).