LAWRENCE — Students suing the Lawrence school district over its use of monitoring software are now asking a court to order the district to comply with open-records requests related to a separate monitoring platform.
According to a Feb. 21, 2026, report by the Lawrence Journal-World, the dispute centers on requests filed under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) seeking information about ManagedMethods, software the district transitioned to after previously using Gaggle.
The plaintiffs allege the district failed to timely and lawfully respond to records requests submitted Oct. 30, 2025, by The Budget, Lawrence High School’s student newspaper, and Free Press, Free State High School’s newsmagazine. The requests sought contracts and documents related to ManagedMethods and the district’s transition to the software, a switch that, according to court filings, occurred without a board vote and was not mentioned in late October court documents.
The underlying lawsuit, filed in August 2025 by nine current and former Lawrence and Free State high school students, alleges the district violated students’ First and Fourth Amendment rights by using Gaggle to monitor and search digital files produced by student journalists on school-issued devices. Defendants include the school district, the school board, Lawrence High School Principal Quentin Rials and Assistant Principal Greg Farley.
According to court filings cited by the Journal-World, the district acknowledged receipt of the students’ open-records requests the day after they were submitted, stating attorneys were reviewing them. However, plaintiffs contend the district did not identify who would search for responsive records, describe the search process, provide documents, give an estimated production date, cite legal exemptions, or offer a cost estimate, as required under KORA.
The district argues the requests were improper because they sought records related to ongoing litigation at a time when discovery — the pretrial process in which parties exchange information — had been temporarily paused by court order. The pause was to remain in effect until a judge ruled on the defendants’ motion to partially dismiss the case, which argues in part that the district no longer has a contract with Gaggle and that ManagedMethods is in place to comply with federal requirements such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act and to ensure student safety.
In January, two students filed a motion for partial judgment on the KORA claims, asking the court to declare the district in violation of the open-records law and to order compliance.
The district responded last week, stating that it did not provide a response earlier because of the discovery pause and a pending motion to dismiss based in part on qualified immunity. Qualified immunity a legal doctrine intended to shield government officials from the burdens of litigation, including discovery, until immunity questions are resolved. The district judge subsequently postponed scheduling and discovery pending a ruling on that motion.
Defendants argue Kansas courts have repeatedly held that parties may not use KORA to obtain case-related documents while discovery is stayed. They contend the students were attempting to circumvent the discovery pause by filing open-records requests instead of using formal litigation procedures.
Even if the court determines that a formal discovery stay was not yet in place when the requests were submitted, the district maintains its response was reasonable.
District officials ultimately responded to the requests on Jan. 30, stating that an initial review had been completed. The district reported that no contract exists with ManagedMethods but provided documents related to invoices, purchase orders and payment records. Those documents were not included in the court filings cited by the Journal-World.
For the remaining requests, the district estimates compliance could involve reviewing approximately 10,000 documents at a projected cost of nearly $13,000, including attorney review time. Plaintiffs have proposed narrowing the scope of their requests, and discussions remain ongoing. As a result, the district argues it is premature for the court to order compliance.
The case remains pending.
Dane Hicks is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico, VA. He is the author of novels "The Skinning Tree" and "A Whisper For Help." As publisher of the Anderson County Review in Garnett, KS., he is a recipient of the Kansas Press Association's Boyd Community Service Award as well as more than 60 awards for excellence in news, editorial and photography.
