The Ridgefield School District has confirmed that unredacted student information was inadvertently released in response to a public records request, exposing student full names in what the district described as a “good faith error.” The disclosure came to light after local community advocate Rob Anderson discussed the matter in an episode of his ReformCast podcast, which examined allegations of misconduct involving a former Ridgefield High School cheer coach. According to reporting by The Reflector, the district acknowledged the release and attributed it to a processing mistake during the fulfillment of a public records request.

The unredacted documents reportedly related to a broader investigation into concerns about the conduct of the former cheer coach, as previously detailed by Anderson. While the district did not publicly disclose the nature of the records involved beyond confirming the error, it stated that the release did not reflect intentional misconduct by staff. Washington’s Public Records Act requires agencies to safeguard personally identifiable information; disclosures of student names may also carry implications under federal privacy protections, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The district indicated it is reviewing its procedures to prevent similar lapses.

At this time, no additional details have been released about how many student names were exposed or what corrective steps the district has taken beyond initiating an internal review. The Reflector’s report noted that the district framed the incident as inadvertent and expressed an intent to strengthen its internal safeguards going forward.