Seattle Public Schools Settlement with Juul 

District sought funding for education, prevention and treatment 

SEATTLE – Seattle Public Schools (SPS) received authorization from the Seattle School Board at its December 13, 2023, meeting to accept approximately $1.75 million in proceeds from a federal lawsuit against Juul Labs, Altria, and other companies and individuals involved in the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of vaping products. 

Under the Juul settlement SPS will receive, upon School Board approval, about $1.3 million over four years. The first installment of $750,000 will be paid in December 2023. Under the Altria settlement, SPS will receive about $400,000 in the first half of 2024. 

“The rise in youth vaping led the SPS team to pursue funding for increased education and prevention efforts for students, families, staff, and community. I am thrilled with the efforts of our teams that brought about this settlement and look forward to the increased support for SPS students! The U.S. Surgeon General has characterized e-cigarette use by young people as a public health epidemic. This settlement marks a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Brent Jones, SPS superintendent. 

The lawsuit against Juul Labs was filed in November 2019 after a dramatic increase in youth vaping and youth nicotine addiction. Among other relief, SPS sought funding for programs for addiction education and treatment. 

“I am pleased to see the positive conclusion of this litigation with this settlement. The district will be able to use these funds to better support our students and their families,” said Greg Narver, SPS general counsel. 

In this litigation, SPS was represented by lawyers from Keller Rohrback, a firm that specializes in representing public entities in high-impact cases involving public health, consumer protection, and the environment. The firm also represented other public entities in litigation against Juul, including King County. The firm represented SPS in the lawsuit on a contingent fee basis, so that all fees and costs of litigation were paid out of SPS’s monetary recovery in the case. The net recovery is $1.75 million for SPS after payment of all fees and costs of litigation. 

About Seattle Public Schools: The largest K-12 school system in Washington state, has a deep commitment to every student’s journey—to ensure that each of our nearly 50,000 students will graduate ready for college, career, and life. We support student learning through collaborative inquiry, family engagement, building academic mindsets, recognizing, and cultivating the strengths and gifts of every student, and anti-racist practices.

Contact: Seattle Public Schools Media Relations, spsmedia@seattleschools.org