Senate Bill 5920 (69th Legislature, 2026) amends Washington's public records law and adds new sections to chapter 28A.320 RCW and chapter 42.56 RCW, making multiple procedural changes to how public records requests are handled, creating a school-district-specific cost schedule option, and adding administrative requirements for indexing, notice, and response timing. The bill modifies existing law (amending RCW 42.56.010, .060, .070, .080, .520 and adding new sections) rather than creating a criminal offense; the changes are primarily procedural and regulatory, not penal. Key changes include requirements that agencies make public records available unless exempt, explain in writing any deletions of identifying details made to prevent unreasonable invasion of privacy, publish laws they believe exempt records, and establish indexing rules. The bill allows school districts to adopt a supplementary cost schedule for overly burdensome requests (excluding requests by news media, parents/guardians of enrolled students, or district employees), requires notification and requester acceptance of total costs before processing, limits supplementary charges to direct processing costs (including staff time not to exceed the staff's hourly rate), requires a publicly available policy and offers a financial hardship waiver process, and authorizes the state school directors' association to provide model schedules and policies. It also prohibits agencies from providing lists of individuals for commercial purposes except limited, specified license-list exceptions. Procedural changes include defining acceptable request formats and a requirement that requests be for identifiable records (a request for all agency records is invalid), a rule that recording requests for school board meetings must specify date(s), and a requirement to provide records promptly and, where appropriate, in installments. Agencies must respond within five business days by either providing records or links, acknowledging receipt with an estimated completion time, requesting clarification, or denying the request; denials must state specific reasons and agencies must provide a prompt internal review deemed final for judicial review at the end of the second business day after denial. The bill requires school districts to designate and publish a public records officer and instructions, allows denial of repetitive or automated "bot requests" that would excessively interfere with operations, permits school districts to petition courts to deny or obtain protective orders against vague, overly broad, or disruptive requests after giving requesters an opportunity to clarify (with a 30-day response rule), preserves existing rights under FERPA as of January 1, 2026, and provides statutory liability protections for officials acting in good faith. The provided facts include statutory definitions for agency, news media, person in interest, public record, writing, and bot request. Some referenced amendments and specific new-section text are not included in the extracted facts provided (for example, the full amended text of RCW 42.56.060, .520, .010 and the new sections added to chapter 28A.320 and chapter 42.56 are not fully shown), so complete details of those provisions cannot be stated here.

If enacted, the bill makes agencies generally required to turn over public records quickly and to explain any redactions, but it also gives school districts new tools and duties that will change how they handle requests. School districts must post clear instructions and a designated records officer, may require use of a district form or web page, and can adopt a formal supplementary fee schedule for requests judged overly burdensome (excluding requests from news media, parents/guardians of enrolled students, or district employees). Those supplementary fees can include staff time but cannot exceed the actual hourly rate of the staff doing the work, must be announced and accepted by the requester before work begins, and may be waived for financial hardship. Districts can also seek court orders to block vague, overly broad, or disruptive requests after giving requesters notice and a chance to narrow requests; courts may look at a requester’s past pattern of requests. The changes also affect all state and local agencies by requiring indexing and prompt five-business-day acknowledgments or deliveries, allowing agencies to refuse suspected automated “bot” floods that would disrupt operations, and shielding officials from liability if they act in good faith. Practically, public records requesters will need to be more precise (for example, specify dates for certain board recordings) and may face new upfront costs or delays for burdensome requests, especially if they are out-of-state or target school districts; some details of implementation and other amended sections are not included in the provided text, so exact procedures and limits may be unclear.