W.S. v. Edmonds School District

Opinion

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON W.S., M.S., and C.S., CASE NO. C21-0390-JCC Plaintiffs, ORDER v. EDMONDS SCHOOL DISTRICT, a municipal Washington corporation, Defendant. This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ unopposed motion to file the administrative record under seal (Dkt. No. 12). The Court starts from the position that there is “a strong presumption in favor of access to court records.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). To overcome this presumption, there must be a “compelling reason” for sealing that is “sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure.” Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). Compelling reasons exist in this case: the administrative record contains private educational and medical information, and Plaintiffs’ interest in keeping that information confidential outweighs the public’s interest in disclosure. See id. Given the volume of the record and the prevalence of sensitive information, redacting this confidential information would be overly burdensome and would render the remaining record difficult to understand—and thus far less valuable—to the public. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion (Dkt. No. 12) and DIRECTS the Clerk to maintain the administrative record under seal once it is filed. DATED this 22nd day of June 2021. A John C. Coughenour UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE