UPDATE Wednesday Sept. 11

A flood of questions about the delayed opening of Highline Public Schools has prompted the district to publish a Frequently Asked Questions page to address them. After detecting the incidenton Sept. 7 the decision was made to delay opening. All schools are set to open on Sept. 12. Preschool will open Sept. 16

The district issued this statement:

We have taken steps to allow us to restore certain segments of our digital network in a secure manner.

The investigation is still ongoing. We want to be clear, this incident involved our digital network, and not the physical safety of our facilities. Student safety measures remain in place.

We know you may have questions. Please see a list of frequently asked questions and answers on our Incident FAQs webpage linked below.

INCIDENT FAQS

UPDATE Tuesday Sept 10

The closure of Highline Public Schools is continuing for another day as the administration wrestles with computer issues related to "unexpected activities on their technology systems"

The community is continuing to be impacted because no kindergarten means parents need to find some kind of day care. No announcement was made regarding when the issue might be resolved.

The district again issued a public statement:

All schools will remain closed on Wednesday, September 11. All school activities, athletics and meetings are canceled. Central office is open.  

Please refer to the staff expectations for school closure to determine whether to report to work. 

Our investigation into unauthorized activity on certain systems on our network is ongoing. As a precaution, we have taken certain systems offline which are important for the safe operation of our schools.

We know this is difficult for students, families, staff and our district as a whole. However, we are actively working around the clock to bring the relevant systems back online quickly and securely so that we can open schools again. We will keep you informed with updates as soon as they become available. 

Student safety and well-being remains a top priority. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

UPDATE Monday Sept. 9

Highline Public Schools announced that the investigation into unexpected activity on their computer systems remained unresolved and that it was still under investigation. Schools are to remain closed through Tuesday Sept. 10. Their announcement reads:

All schools will remain closed on Tuesday, September 10. All school activities, athletics and meetings are canceled. Central office will be open.  

Our investigation into unauthorized activity on our technology systems is ongoing, and critical systems are still offline.   

We understand canceling school is a significant disruption for our families and staff, but student safety remains our top priority. 

Here is a link to staff expectations during a school closure.  

We will share more information about the incident and impact on our technology systems as soon as it is available. 

Original Post Sunday Sept. 8

Highline Public Schools will be closed Monday Sept. 8, in response to the discovery of unauthorized activity on its technology system. All school activities including athletics and meetings are now cancelled.

Shut down too is the vaccine clinic at the central office. In a post on their site they said:

"All schools are closed on Monday, September 9. All school activities, athletics and meetings are canceled, including the vaccine clinic. Central office is open. 

We have detected unauthorized activity on our technology systems and have taken immediate action to isolate critical systems. We are working closely with third-party, state and federal partners to safely restore and test our systems.  

We understand this comes as an unexpected disruption, particularly on the eve of the first day of kindergarten for many of our families. We recognize the burden this decision places on both families and staff, but student safety is our top priority, and we cannot have school without these critical systems in place. 

Here is a link to staff expectations during a school closure. Please refer to this information if you receive any questions. 

School and central office administrators are expected to report to work. Central office administrators may be deployed to schools if needed. 

The investigation is ongoing. We will notify staff and families by 2:00 p.m. on Monday if this disruption impacts schools on Tuesday. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding."