The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) has filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for flagrantly violating the state’s Open Records Law. After nearly a year of stonewalling, DPI is effectively hiding public records behind an illegal, exorbitant $34,014 price tag for electronic files the agency has already located.
WILL has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to step in and compel DPI to immediately release records regarding denied educator licenses.
The Quotes: WILL Associate Counsel, Lauren Greuel, stated, “An informed electorate is essential to representative government, which is why Wisconsin law strongly favors public access to government records. 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.”
What Happened: On August 13, 2025, WILL requested records from DPI of applicants denied an educator license since 2018 for failing to complete an approved program. After months of silence, DPI finally acknowledged locating 1,381 denied applications but demanded an unauthorized $17,007 to “review them by hand” at $49.26 per hour. WILL attempted to narrow the request, DPI raised the cost of the records from $17,007 to $34,014. After confirming the DPI’s position on the time and cost estimate was final, WILL was left with no choice but to sue.
Our Legal Argument: Wisconsin’s Open Records Law authorizes only limited fees for producing public records, and those fees may not exceed an agency’s actual, necessary, and direct costs. Manually reviewing by hand and screenshotting each denied application are not actual, necessary, and direct costs the DPI may impose. Even if the DPI could charge for those tasks, DPIs unreasonable delay in responding to the request, coupled with its excessive $34,014 fee, amounts to an unlawful denial of access to public records. WILL is asking the court to order production of the records and impose the remedies authorized by Wisconsin law.
What Comes Next: WILL has officially filed legal action and is asking the court to issue an order directing DPI to immediately produce the requested records without the unlawful fees.
Read More:
- Complaint, June 2026
Lauren Greuel
Associate Counsel