Doe v. Berkeley Unified School District, 3:20-cv-08842

Plaintiff, a high school student, sued Berkeley Unified School District for negligence after being sexually assaulted by a peer and sought the alleged perpetrator’s school records to prove notice and prior incidents.
Under California law and FERPA, BUSD cannot disclose student records without parental consent, a court order, or a lawful subpoena; federal law requires parent notification except in certain abuse proceedings.
BUSD attempted to obtain parental consent for disclosure but did not receive it; the district provided notice of a discovery hearing and no parent or guardian objected after opportunity to be heard.
Courts treat student-record disclosure as a higher privacy burden than ordinary discovery, but disclosure is permitted where a plaintiff demonstrates a genuine need outweighing the student’s privacy interest.
The court found plaintiff showed a significantly weighty need to prove the school was on notice about repeated misconduct and inadequately responsive; public interest in safe schools also weighed in favor of disclosure.
The court ordered BUSD to produce the alleged perpetrator’s student records subject to a protective order and sealed/redacted filing procedures to protect student identities.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether BUSD may disclose another student's records without parental consent	Need for records to show school notice of prior incidents and inadequate response justifies disclosure	FERPA/Cal. Educ. Code prohibit disclosure absent parental consent or subpoena; privacy interests are significant	Court ordered production by court order: disclosure permissible when plaintiff’s need outweighs privacy interests
Whether plaintiff met the higher burden required for student-record disclosure	Plaintiff demonstrated genuine, weighty need tied to elements of negligence and notice	BUSD argued privacy protections and statutory limits block disclosure without consent	Court found plaintiff met the burden and need outweighed privacy/public-policy concerns
Whether protective measures can mitigate privacy concerns	Protective order and sealing/redaction will protect identities and confidential details	Privacy interests could be irreparably harmed if records are broadly disclosed	Court required production under protective order and sealed/redacted filings to preserve privacy

Rios v. Read, 73 F.R.D. 589 (E.D.N.Y. 1977) (establishes that plaintiffs must show a genuine need for student records that outweighs privacy interests)