The Press-Enterprise
June 2, 2009

    RIVERSIDE - A federal judge on Monday handed the Jurupa Unified School District a victory in its battle with one of its board members -- dismissing a lawsuit filed by trustee Noreen Considine that challenged the district's handling of confidential student records.
    In his ruling, U.S. District Judge George H. King said he had no jurisdiction in the matter because the federal law Considine sued under -- the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act -- did not give individuals the right to sue over the handling of student records.
    But King added that even if he did have jurisdiction, he would decline to intrude "on what is, in essence, a policy disagreement between duly elected Board Members of the Jurupa School District."
    He granted the motion without leave to amend, meaning Considine's attorney cannot retool the lawsuit and file it again.
    "It's rather striking," school district legal counsel Jack B. Clarke Jr. said of the judge's language.
    "It really shows that the judge did not believe the case had merit," he said.

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