Highline schools to reopen Thursday with no internet access

Highline schools are set to reopen on Thursday, September 12, but operations will look a little different. There will be no internet access as the district continues to investigate a cyber security incident.

Highline Public Schools, located in South King County, announced the plan to reopen via its website on Wednesday.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” the district stated. “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 will provide updates related to the incident as they become available.”

Other news: Lynnwood High School student arrested after flashing gun in car on the way to campus

Highline said it is working on a plan for Highline Virtual Academy and the Highline Virtual Elementary program, which rely on virtual learning.

Schools were closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, delaying the first day of kindergarten and affecting athletics. With the new plan, athletics will resume on Thursday.

The district said school clubs and activities will start back up on a case-by-case basis.

“We’re working with our before- and after-school providers—please look for communication from your provider about programming,” Highline stated.

The district said as a precaution, it has taken certain systems offline which are vital for school operations. However, according to a news release, Office 365, including email and the district’s website is operational.

“Our investigation into unauthorized activity on our technology systems is ongoing, and critical systems are still offline,” Highline stated on Monday. “We have not seen evidence of staff, family or student information compromised. If this changes, we will notify impacted individuals.”

Highline Superintendent Ivan Duran posted a statement, acknowledging families’ disappointment in postponing the first day of kindergarten.

“My oldest son was set to begin kindergarten in Highline today,” Duran wrote. “Like many of you, we were eagerly looking forward to this new chapter.”

More local news: WSF terminates sale of Elwha and Klahowya, gets $200,000 anyway

During the closures, the central office stayed open. School and central office administrators were still expected to report to work. Staff are being asked not to use their district-issued computer and laptops until further notice.

Highline said it will share more information about frequently asked questions later on Wednesday.

Editors note: This story was originally published on September 8. It has been updated and republished since then.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.