Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association v. California Department of Education

Filing 106

ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 6/1/15. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to serve a courtesy copy of this order with the attachment on Mr. Krone at the mailing and e-mail addresses shown on the attachment. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Special Master Protocol and Budget)(Meuleman, A)

Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association v. California Department of Education
Case Number: 2:2011cv03471

Memorandum on Protocol and Budget for Special Master
Further to discussions with both parties and the submission of references, and further to the
discussion with Judge Mueller on May 19, 2015, I set out below a draft protocol and budget for
my proposed role as Special Master in the above case, and subject to the limited role proposed
by Judge Mueller.
1. In advance of meetings, Special Master to review:
1) Discovery Requests and Discovery Responses to date
2) Parties to produce an updated Joint Statement of Disputed Discovery Issues
3) Joint Report dated January 16, 2015
4) To extent Joint Report does not clarify – each party to explain how technical experts
identified intend to assist with identification and searching of data, and what tools they
intend to use for searching/ verification/ production
2. First meeting with all parties to introduce Special Master and role
3. Separate meetings with each party and their experts to determine:
California DOE
1) How DOE is determining the size and extent of evidence (e.g. their databases)
2) DOE to explain how it intends to respond to Plaintiff’s discovery requests e.g. search
(use of proprietary/ third party tools), export and produce data, redaction/ anonymize
data to protect student privacy (e.g. why DOE maintains that manual searching/
redaction is necessary)
3) DOE to explain what experts/ internal resources it has to carry out searching/
production, what tests have been carried out to see if such searching is practical
4) The protocols that have been identified/ chosen by the DOE in this case for data
masking/ anonymization/ sanitization – and the reasoning for the decision
Plaintiffs
1) How Plaintiffs intend to search the data provided by DOE and why productions (actual
or proposed) to date have been insufficient

Memorandum on Protocol and Budget for Special Master

2) The extent to which anonymization of data will hinder the goals of Plaintiffs – i.e. what
specific data elements are necessary, and whether they can partially obscured rather
than fully redacted
3) How Plaintiffs are formulating their searches (e.g. what outside expertise/ knowledge
they have of the specific DOE databases)
4) After each separate meeting, parties may be requested to submit written confidential
responses to the Special Master answering issues identified
4. Special Master to review written submissions re. Phase 3 above
5. Special Master to host Meet and Confer – goals to be:
1) Allow parties to be confident that searching will be carried out correctly (i.e. DOE
understands its databases and is carrying out a reasonable search protocol given any
technical limitations)
2) That the anonymization of data to protect student privacy can be carried out in a
manner that balances the different interests, yet is also efficient, and utilizes best
practices/ current protocols and methodologies
3) Develop a protocol for searching databases/ evidence in sources that would be reflected
in a negotiated order agreed by parties
4) Develop a protocol for production of data from databases that would be reflected in a
negotiated order agreed by parties (e.g. formalizing current parties’ agreement that
“defendant will produce any and all data and information in the format in which they
originally exist in defendant’s databases and defendant’s electronic storage systems”)

Budget
Phases 1 - 5

35 hours @ $350

The above budget is a best estimate, assuming telephone attendance only. If in-person
attendance is required, a separate budget will be provided. The Special Master would report to
the Court if it appears that additional budget will be required.

Winston Krone, Esq., Kivu Consulting, Inc.
44 Montgomery Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, CA 94104
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

Memorandum on Protocol and Budget for Special Master