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Cases

Shelton v. Napa Valley Unified School District

On May 8, 2024, the First Amendment Coalition filed a motion to intervene in Shelton v. Napa Valley Unified School District, a “reverse CPRA” lawsuit that seeks to prevent the release of public records regarding a former public school teacher’s alleged sexual abuse of students.

A reverse CPRA lawsuit seeks to prevent a government agency from releasing records in response to a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request. Reverse CPRA lawsuits are often brought by the subject of the records that are sought. In this case, Matthew Shelton, a former public school teacher who was previously charged with sexual misconduct while working in the Napa Valley Unified School District and is currently facing similar charges from his time teaching for Benicia Unified School District, brought a reverse CPRA lawsuit against both school districts to prevent them releasing documents responsive to a CPRA request filed by reporter Holly McDede.

FAC represents McDede, who covers sexual misconduct in schools, and has previously written about Shelton’s case for the Vallejo Sun. She made CPRA requests for records of Shelton’s misconduct, employment records, any separation or settlement agreements, and other documents from both the Napa Valley and Benicia school districts. But before either district released all records sought by McDede, Shelton filed the reverse CPRA lawsuit, and a temporary order directed the districts to withhold the records until the case is considered.

FAC’s motion asks the court to permit McDede to intervene in Shelton v. Napa Valley Unified School District and allow FAC to argue that the court should dismiss Shelton’s reverse CPRA lawsuit, which will permit the districts to release the documents requested by McDede.

Ultimately, the court rejected Shelton’s bid to hide the records from public scrutiny. On December 5, 2024, the court lifted the temporary restraining order against disclosing all but four of the records at issue. This order allowed the Districts to disclose the public records to McDede, as required by the CPRA.

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