Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association v. California Department of Education

Filing 157

ORDER signed by District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 02/21/16 ORDERING that a Status Conference is SET for 2/26/2016 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 3 (KJM) before District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. Parties shall file separate statements which may be in the form of sworn declarations with attachments by 02/24/16. (Benson, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MORGAN HILL CONCERNED
PARENTS ASSOCIATION, an
unincorporated association, and
CONCERNED PARENTS
ASSOCIATION, an unincorporated
association,

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ORDER

Plaintiffs,

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No. 2:11-cv-03471-KJM-AC

v.
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION and DOES 1 through 5,
Defendants.

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On its own motion, the court sets a special status to discuss the public posting of

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the FERPA notice and information on the public’s response to that posting that has come to the

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court’s attention. The special status is set for Friday, February 26, 2016, at 11 a.m. in

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Courtroom 3 on 15th Floor of the Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse.

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By the close of business on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, the parties shall file

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separate statements, which may be in the form of sworn declarations with attachments,

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responding to the following statements:

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1. What information with respect to the required FERPA notice was available on

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the CDE website prior to February 17, 2016? If the information appeared in

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different forms between February 1 and 17, 2016, what were those different

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forms? What do screenshots of the website(s) containing the notice for this

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time period show for each different iteration of the website?

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2. Was the Spanish translation of the notice prepared by a certified interpreter,

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and if so, what certification standards did that interpreter possess?

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3. What information do the parties possess to explain why a member of the public

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received a notice alerting that person of Identity Theft Risk, apparently

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generated based on the notice? See ECF No. 154 (e-mail received at judge’s

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private e-mail address to which judge has not responded, with sender and

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receiver e-mail addresses redacted).

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4. What information has the CDE provided to persons calling the phone number

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appended to the notice? If a script has been provided to CDE employees or

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representatives for use in answering questions from callers, what is the content

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of that script?

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5. In addition to posting the notice on the CDE webpage, what other efforts has

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CDE, or any of its employees or agents, undertaken to distribute the notice or

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the Secretary of Education’s Feburary 17, 2016 press release to the public?

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6. What messages have plaintiffs distributed to members of the public regarding

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the notice? What do copies or screenshots of those messages look like, with

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dates and methods of distribution?

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7. What information have plaintiffs provided to persons contacting them about

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the notice? If a script has been provided to plaintiffs’ employees or

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representatives for use in answering questions, what is the content of that

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script?

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In addition to providing written information to the questions posed above, the

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parties shall come to the special status prepared to address: (1) whether the notice has been

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rendered ineffective by virtue of incomplete or misleading messages that have been and are being

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conveyed about the notice, its purpose, and its context within this litigation; (2) what weight if

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any the court can give to objections being filed based on incomplete or misleading messages; and

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(3) whether the events triggered by the notice require reconsideration of the methods required to

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allow discovery to proceed so as to allow fair and just litigation of this case.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: February 21, 2016.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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