C.P. v. Seattle Public Schools

W.D. Washington

C.P. v. Seattle Public Schools

DecidedMarch 31, 2025

Docket2:25-cv-00286

StatusUnknown

This text of C.P. v. Seattle Public Schools (C.P. v. Seattle Public Schools) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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C.P. v. Seattle Public Schools, (W.D. Wash. 2025).

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Opinion

Honorable Barbara J. Rothstein 1

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 9 AT SEATTLE

10 S.P., by and through her guardians C.P. and Case No.: 2:25-cv-00286-BJR 11 D.P.,

12 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED 13 v. MOTION TO FILE UNREDACTED ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD UNDER 14 SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, a quasi- SEAL municipal corporation, 15

Defendant. 16

17 This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ stipulated motion to file the 18 administrative record under seal. The Court starts from the position that there is “a strong 19 presumption in favor of access to court records.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 20 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). To overcome this presumption, there must be a “compelling reason” 21 for sealing that is “sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure.” Kamakana v. City & 22 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). Compelling reasons exist in this case: 23 the administrative record contains a student’s private educational and medical information, and 24 Plaintiffs’ interest in keeping that information confidential outweighs the public’s interest in 25

1 of 2 | ORDER GRANTING STIP. MOTION TO SEAL Cedar Law PLLC ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD 1 || disclosure. See id. Given the volume of the record and the prevalence of sensitive information, 2 ||redacting this confidential information would be overly burdensome and would render the 3 ||remaining record difficult to understand — and thus far less valuable — to the public. 4 Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the parties’ stipulated motion and DIRECTS the Clerk to 5 || maintain the administrative record under seal once it is filed. 6 DATED this 31st day of March, 2025. 7 ° & Aare eu, 9 aS Barbara Jacobs Rothstein 10 U.S. District Court Judge 11 42 Presented by: 43 || CEDAR LAW PLLC 14 ||By: __s/Alex Hagel Alexander Hagel, WSBA #55423 15 || Attorney for Plaintiffs 16 '7 |! PACIFICA LAW GROUP LLP 18 By: __s/ Sarah C. Johnson 19 ||Susan Winkleman, WSBA #49544 Sarah C. Johnson, WSBA #34529 20 || Attorneys for Defendant 21 22 23 24 25 2 of 2 | ORDER GRANTING STIP. MOTION TO SEAL Cedar Law PLLC ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD 600 1S Ave., Ste. 330, PMB 96563 2:25-cv-00286-BJR Seattle, WA 98104 Ph: (206) 607-8277 | Fax: (206) 237-9101

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Honorable Barbara J. Rothstein 1

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 9 AT SEATTLE

10 S.P., by and through her guardians C.P. and Case No.: 2:25-cv-00286-BJR 11 D.P.,

12 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED 13 v. MOTION TO FILE UNREDACTED ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD UNDER 14 SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, a quasi- SEAL municipal corporation, 15

Defendant. 16

17 This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ stipulated motion to file the 18 administrative record under seal. The Court starts from the position that there is “a strong 19 presumption in favor of access to court records.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 20 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). To overcome this presumption, there must be a “compelling reason” 21 for sealing that is “sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure.” Kamakana v. City & 22 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). Compelling reasons exist in this case: 23 the administrative record contains a student’s private educational and medical information, and 24 Plaintiffs’ interest in keeping that information confidential outweighs the public’s interest in 25

1 of 2 | ORDER GRANTING STIP. MOTION TO SEAL Cedar Law PLLC ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD 1 || disclosure. See id. Given the volume of the record and the prevalence of sensitive information, 2 ||redacting this confidential information would be overly burdensome and would render the 3 ||remaining record difficult to understand — and thus far less valuable — to the public. 4 Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the parties’ stipulated motion and DIRECTS the Clerk to 5 || maintain the administrative record under seal once it is filed. 6 DATED this 31st day of March, 2025. 7 ° & Aare eu, 9 aS Barbara Jacobs Rothstein 10 U.S. District Court Judge 11 42 Presented by: 43 || CEDAR LAW PLLC 14 ||By: __s/Alex Hagel Alexander Hagel, WSBA #55423 15 || Attorney for Plaintiffs 16 '7 |! PACIFICA LAW GROUP LLP 18 By: __s/ Sarah C. Johnson 19 ||Susan Winkleman, WSBA #49544 Sarah C. Johnson, WSBA #34529 20 || Attorneys for Defendant 21 22 23 24 25 2 of 2 | ORDER GRANTING STIP. MOTION TO SEAL Cedar Law PLLC ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD 600 1S Ave., Ste. 330, PMB 96563 2:25-cv-00286-BJR Seattle, WA 98104 Ph: (206) 607-8277 | Fax: (206) 237-9101

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C.P. v. Seattle Public Schools, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cp-v-seattle-public-schools-wawd-2025.