The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that the Slate Valley Unified School District is not required to publicly release documents related to the use of restraint and seclusion in its schools. The decision, released on Friday, overturned a superior court judge's December 2023 order that the district release the documents — with identifying student information redacted — because they provided important evidence to the public about whether the state's disciplinary policies were being followed. Slate Valley, which serves students in Benson, Castleton, Fair Haven, Hubbardton, Orwell and West Haven, appealed that decision, arguing that the restraint and seclusion documents, known as 4500 forms, constituted "student records" and were exempt from Vermont's Public Records Act. In its January 10 decision, the state's high court sided with the school district, stating that the 4500 forms — which school employees are required to fill out when they physically restrain students or confine them in a space to calm down — constitute student records. [content-2] The decision likened the 4500 forms to disciplinary records because "they contain information related to a specific student and the details of an incident involving the use of restraint and seclusion on that individual student." The original lawsuit was filed by Curtis Hier. A former high school teacher and current school board member in the district, he rankled administrators and fellow board members with a deluge of public records requests, calls for an investigation of the superintendent and adversarial social media posts. His three-year term on the school board runs through March 2026. Hier said he initially requested the restraint and seclusion forms after he became concerned that Slate Valley students were being mistreated. After the district denied his requests for the forms, he decided to sue. In an email on Friday, Hier characterized the Supreme Court decision as "a blow to transparency and accountability at Slate Valley." He alleged that school personnel "were never investigated by the [state Agency of Education] for abuses, despite parent complaints." Slate Valley superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell told Seven Days at the time of the 2023 ruling that she was concerned it could open the door to schools being required to release other sensitive student records such as report cards as well as Title IX, hazing, harassment and bullying investigations. [content-1] On Friday, Olsen-Farrell wrote in an email that she was "thrilled" that her school district had won its appeal. "In this case, someone attempted…