Superintendent's encrypted chats may break Oregon public records law

Portland Public Schools officials may have violated state law by conducting district business on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform that deletes conversations. Willamette Week reported that Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong and other administrators used the app's disappearing message feature for official matters. The publication did not release screenshots but stated it holds images showing the superintendent managing district operations through the application.

Public records attorney Alan Kessler asserted that the practice is illegal under state statute. He explained that any district business discussed on the platform becomes a public record and must be archived. Kessler noted that using Signal to bypass standard archiving systems and keep messages from being searchable constitutes a break of the law.

Kessler first learned of the allegations last month after seeing a viral social media post from a board meeting. He described seeing someone photograph a phone during a public hearing, which included unkind remarks about a board member. The timing of the report has intensified scrutiny from families already dealing with the superintendent's plan to close up to a dozen schools.

Adam Seidman, a parent in the district, said the new information adds to the weight of recent developments. He described the report as another bomb in the stream of stories families have been hearing. Seidman emphasized that parents want to work with the district rather than face an antagonistic dynamic. He stated that administrators do not need to hide their messages and should communicate directly with the public.

A PPS spokesperson responded to the allegations by clarifying that Signal is not an approved platform for official communications. The district stated it is currently taking action to determine if specific messages constitute public records. If they do, the district is assessing whether those messages can be recovered from the platform.

Kessler, who also has two children in the PPS system, expressed concern that the administrative process lacks transparency. He argued that deleting the record of how sweeping decisions are made undermines the public's ability to understand the rationale behind them. The district has not yet finalized the number of schools that will close, but the proposed changes remain a central point of contention for local families.

The legal implications hinge on whether the messages sent via Signal meet the definition of public records under Oregon law. If the district confirms that official business was conducted on the app and the messages are not archived, it faces a potential legal violation. The district continues to review its communication protocols in light of the report.