$34,000 Records Bill At Center Of Lawsuit Against DPI

Wisconsin Superintendent Jill Underly speaks during a press conference Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, at the Tommy G. Thompson Center in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is being sued for allegedly “hiding public records” related to educator licenses, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by a Wisconsin law firm.

The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty says it requested records in August 2025 related to how many educators were denied licenses for failing to complete a DPI-approved educator preparation program that meets specific criteria.

After months of no contact, DPI responded, saying the agency had located 1,381 denied applications but said they would have to review the applications by hand, costing $49.26 per hour at a cost of $34,014, said WILL attorney Lauren Greuel.

“An informed electorate is essential to representative government, which is why Wisconsin law strongly favors public access to government records,” Greuel said. “After months of delay, DPI is attempting to price the public out of that access by imposing tens of thousands of dollars in unlawful fees. Government transparency cannot depend on whether citizens can afford to pay for it.”

DPI spokesperson Alison Parkins said in an email to WPR that the agency could not respond in detail due to pending litigation.

“However, the estimate reflects the time and resources required to produce the requested records, in accordance with Wisconsin’s open records laws,” Parkins said in a statement. “Defending lawsuits from special interest groups such as this requires taxpayer-funded resources that are diverted from our core mission of supporting Wisconsin schools, educators, and students.”

On April 17, DPI general counsel Kyle Olsen emailed WILL that the agency’s licensing system is dated and cumbersome.

Olsen said a DPI employee would need to screenshot each application, as well as download and organize attachments uploaded by applicants.

“Our licensing team estimates it would take 30 minutes per application to retrieve all of the information you are now requesting. That would be a total cost estimate of $34,014,” Olsen wrote.

WILL’s lawsuit asks a judge to compel DPI to immediately release the records regarding denied educator licenses.

Greuel says her law firm currently has five open records requests with DPI and the department should not be afraid to fill them because they are afraid of being sued.

“They can’t pick and choose who to give records to based on the motivation for the open records request,” she said. “Quite frankly, I know, people can disagree with our mission, but we want to help education in Wisconsin be better. That is one of our goals, and that’s part of our motivation for sending these open records requests, and I hope that that’s a goal that we and DPI can agree on.”

Wisconsin law firm sues Department of Public Instruction over public records was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.