STEPHENS v. GATEWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

MAYA STEPHENS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) Civil Action No. 2:24-1703 ) v. ) Judge Cathy Bissoon ) Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly GATEWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Magistrate Judge Kelly’s Order (Doc. 115) denying Plaintiff Maya Stephens’s Motion for Protective Order was neither clearly erroneous nor contrary to law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a) (reciting standards of review governing magistrate judges’ non-dispositive rulings). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Objection (Doc. 119) is OVERRULED, and Judge Kelly’s ruling is AFFIRMED. Plaintiff has not alleged sufficient facts to conclusively identify the source of the information in the alleged report or to conclude that the use of this information was malicious or improper. Furthermore, to the extent that Gateway School District staff are statutorily mandated reporters, the fact that they may have learned relevant information from a filing would not negate this duty, and to order Defendants not to report would undermine the purpose of the Child Protective Services Law. See 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6311 (2015); Kelley v. Pittman, 150 A.3d 59, 69 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016) (finding that protecting a mandatory reporter’s privacy furthered the purpose of the Child Protective Services Law “to encourage more complete reporting of suspected child abuse” (quoting 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6302)). IT IS SO ORDERED. October 3, 2025 s/Cathy Bissoon Cathy Bissoon United States District Judge

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