On July 19, 2016, Dorn filed suit against the State of Washington and seven local school districts in a response to the State's ongoing failure to address a 2012 state Supreme Court mandate to fully fund education by 2018. Following cuts to education funding, the Washington State Legislature broadened local governments' authority to levy taxes to make up for the funding gap, a system the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional.

Dorn alleged that the taxes being levied by the school districts, which he named as "examples," are illegal. "This is not a step I want to take," said Dorn of the lawsuit. The school districts included in the suit are Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, Evergreen, and Puyallup. He further stated that the intent of the court filing was to pressure the legislature into approving a reform package; the Supreme Court has been fining the state $100,000 per day since August 2015 due to the legislature's lack of progress on the issue.

Several officials for the school districts voiced opposition to the lawsuit, stating that the legislature authorized the levies and, barring full funding from the state, the districts would be unable to meet salary obligations without them.

The Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected state executive position in the Washington state government. The Office of Superintendent of Public instruction is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 public education in the state.

Dorn served as the Washington superintendent of public instruction from 2009 to 2017.

Lawsuit against the State of Washington and seven school districts

On July 19, 2016, Dorn filed suit against the State of Washington and seven local school districts in a response to the State's ongoing failure to address a 2012 state Supreme Court mandate to fully fund education by 2018. Following cuts to education funding, the Washington State Legislature broadened local governments' authority to levy taxes to make up for the funding gap, a system the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional.

Dorn alleged that the taxes being levied by the school districts, which he named as "examples," are illegal. "This is not a step I want to take," said Dorn of the lawsuit. The school districts included in the suit are Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, Evergreen, and Puyallup. He further stated that the intent of the court filing was to pressure the legislature into approving a reform package; the Supreme Court has been fining the state $100,000 per day since August 2015 due to the legislature's lack of progress on the issue.

Several officials for the school districts voiced opposition to the lawsuit, stating that the legislature authorized the levies and, barring full funding from the state, the districts would be unable to meet salary obligations without them.

About the office

The Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected state executive position in the Washington state government. The Office of Superintendent of Public instruction is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 public education in the state.