Park City School District’s records search upheld; director denies father’s request for additional educational and DCFS records

Director Pearson denied an appeal from Brian Bain seeking additional records from Park City School District that Bain says document statements his daughter made to school staff about safety concerns. The director found the district’s production and search efforts adequate and noted that FERPA governs education records.

Bain, representing himself, said he sought existing teacher notes, counselor records, emails and incident documentation related to statements his daughter allegedly made over multiple school years. "The school staff have told me that Aliyah has made multiple statements about being afraid of her mother," Bain said, asking the director to compel a more specific search and a sworn search declaration identifying search terms, systems and date ranges.

Park City counsel (Miss Andrews) and Mr. Elliott described the district’s position that education records governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are the more specific statute and had been produced. Mr. Elliott described searches of Google Drive and emails for the student's name and calls to teachers; Miss Andrews said the district cannot search DCFS incident reports by student name without an incident number and that subpoenas could be used to obtain testimony if needed.

After reviewing submitted materials, Director Pearson said the hundreds of pages the district produced — even with duplicates from multiple custodians — supported that a reasonable search was conducted. He denied the appeal, and said he will issue a written decision within seven business days; parties retain the right to appeal to district court within 30 calendar days.

The decision resolves administrative review of Appeal 2026-099; Bain may pursue other legal avenues if he elects to subpoena district staff or pursue discovery in related court proceedings.