A lawsuit has been filed against Highline Public Schools alleging a systemic, bad-faith pattern of delay and non-compliance under Washington's Public Records Act. This page hosts the filing in full, for the public record.
SEATTLE, WA — A formal lawsuit has been filed in King County Superior Court against Highline Public Schools (Case No. 26-2-23235-1 SEA), alleging widespread violations of Washington's Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). The action claims the School District routinely uses arbitrary, multi-month extensions to delay the release of public documents, suppressing transparency around district governance and administrative operations.
The complaint, assigned to Department 02 (Judge Kristin Ballinger), highlights a growing pattern where routine requests — including native software tracking logs and basic administrative metadata generated automatically by the District's GovQA portal — are routinely pushed out by 10 to 12 weeks.
Under Washington law (RCW 42.56.520), agencies responding to public records requests must provide a reasonable estimate of time based on the actual effort required to process the request. The lawsuit alleges that Highline Public Schools uses boilerplate responses to extend deadlines arbitrarily, depriving parents, advocates, and the community of timely public oversight.
Recent documentation demonstrates that even after being served with legal notice, the District issued notices extending basic electronic database reporting to September 29, 2026.
"Public oversight of school district governance is impossible when basic transparency requests are intentionally locked behind automated multi-month delays. Washington law requires prompt access to public records, not standardized stalling tactics." — Plaintiff Kristen Price
The Plaintiff is seeking court orders compelling immediate production of withheld records, statutory daily penalties under RCW 42.56.550, and court costs.
Drawn from the filed Petition for Enforcement of the Washington Public Records Act. The full 213-page filing, including all exhibits, is available for download below.
Over a rolling period between May and July 2026, the Petition alleges Plaintiff submitted twenty-four distinct, narrow, keyword-restricted public records requests to the District through its GovQA portal — and that the District met them with a uniform, copy-pasted delay protocol rather than the individualized review the law requires.
The Petition alleges the District processes some requests quickly — closing a ThoughtExchange moderation-log request with a full, unredacted release — but stalls the moment inquiries turn to executive accountability, personnel investigations, or public expenditures.
The Petition alleges the District located 114 responsive records and quoted a $1.40 fee, then blocked payment, refused to issue an invoice, and retracted its own production date in favor of an open-ended "just as soon as we are able."
The Petition alleges that in response to a request for a specific employee's current desk assignment, the District produced a generic 2023 job template and an onboarding document instead — records the Petition says show the District had material readily available on the very day it claimed it could not.
The Petition asks the Court to compel immediate production of the withheld records, impose statutory daily penalties under RCW 42.56.550, and award costs.
Key dates from the Order Setting Civil Case Schedule, entered by the Presiding Judge on July 20, 2026.
Original filings, as submitted to the King County Superior Court Clerk. Provided here for public review.
A public agency answers to the public it serves. If you've experienced similar delays with Highline Public Schools, or want to follow this case, get in touch.