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Washington State Supreme Court rules on whether newspaper can access names of teachers alleged to have committed sexual misconduct against students

"Fifteen public school teachers seek to enjoin their respective school districts from releasing their names in response to a public records request by the Seattle Times Company for the names of teachers alleged to have committed sexual misconduct against students." So begins the majority opinion that the Supreme Court of Washington State issued today.

And the majority opinion concludes:

We reverse the Court of Appeals in part. We hold a teacher's identity should be released under the [Public Disclosure Act] only when alleged sexual misconduct has been substantiated or when that teacher's conduct results in some form of discipline, even if only a reprimand. Letters of direction and related documents must be disclosed under the PDA, but where a letter simply seeks to guide future conduct, does not identify an incident of substantiated misconduct, and does not subject the teacher to any form of restriction or discipline, a teacher's name and other identifying information must be redacted.

Five of the court's nine justices joined in the majority opinion, while a sixth concurred only in the result without separate opinion. Two other justices joined in a dissenting opinion and would have held that "reports of allegations of sexual misconduct against children by their teachers, including the teachers' identities, must be disclosed whether the sexual misconduct is substantiated or not." The remaining justice did not participate in the ruling.

Full post as published by How Appealing on July 31, 2008 (boomark / email).