Jackson v. Willoughby Eastlake Sch. Dist. - No. 1:16CV3100, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49508 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 23, 2018)

Rule:

FERPA protects educational records or personally identifiable information from improper disclosure." The Sixth Circuit has determined that Congress intended to include student disciplinary records within the meaning of 'education records' as defined by the FERPA. FERPA, however, does not, by its express terms, prevent discovery of relevant school records under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In other words, records that are considered protected under a statute are not necessarily privileged for discovery purposes, and FERPA does not provide such a privilege. 

Facts:

This case arose from Plaintiffs' allegations concerning incidents of student bullying and/or harassment, and Defendants' responses. Plaintiffs Robert Jackson and Kim J., individually, and as next friend and parent(s) of C.J., a minor, filed a five-count complaint against defendants Willoughby Eastlake School District ("the District"); Willoughby Eastlake Board of Education ("the Board"); Steve Thompson, Superintendent of the District; and individuals Jason Wilson, David Miller, Matt Sternberg, and Laura Musgrave, employees of the District. (R. 1, Compl.) Plaintiffs claim that the District failed to take affirmative steps to report, document and prevent bullying and retaliation against C.J. and other students, and that the District, Board, and individual defendants violated substantive due process rights and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Plaintiffs further allege violation of C.J.'s rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681. Plaintiffs filed their motion to compel on December 29, 2017, alleging the defendants failed to provide written responses to plaintiffs' combined interrogatories and requests for production of documents served on October 5, 2017. Plaintiffs' supplemental motion to compel moves that the court order defendants to provide, under a protective order, "all individual personnel records as identified in Interrogatory Nos. 7, 16, 17, 22, 23, and 25" and requested student disciplinary records. (R. 21, PageID #: 214, 229.) Interrogatory No. 7 requests specific information concerning any "follow-up action" taken in response to allegations of bullying, harassment, or physical assault of C.J. by fellow students.

Issue:

Are the requested student educational records confidential under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”)?

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

FERPA does not create an absolute bar or privilege that prevents the disclosure of the records sought here. The Plaintiffs' need for the discovery outweighs the students' privacy interests, as the individual records of T.H., D.H. and H.J., specifically, and other reports against individual students made by C.J., are not merely relevant but are "critical in either proving or disproving the portion of her claims supported by these allegations.” Plaintiffs correctly contended that this information was the only way to corroborate their allegations. However, the court instructed certain privacy safeguards to be placed, such as marking the student information as confidential and redacting personally identifiable information, among others.