Teachers’ Names Need Not Be Disclosed Under Public Records Act.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has developed a statistical model designed to measure a teacher’s effect on his or her students’ performance in the California Standards Tests. This model yields a result—known as an Academic Growth Over Time (AGT) score—which is derived by comparing students’ actual scores with the scores the students were predicted to achieve based on a host of sociodemographic and other factors. This writ proceeding raises the question of whether the AGT scores of each teacher, identified by name, must be released under the California Public Records Act (CPRA; Government Code section 6250 et seq.) In granting extraordinary relief, the appellate court stated: “We hold that the unredacted AGT scores are exempt from disclosure under the catch-all exemption in section 6255 because the public interest served by not disclosing the teachers’ names clearly outweighs the public interest served by their disclosure.” (Los Angeles Unified School District v. Sup. Ct. (Los Angeles Times Communications LLC) (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 8; July 23, 2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 222, [175 Cal.Rptr.3d 90].)