In early 2017, a lawsuit was filed against the District relating to a policy adopted in July 2016 by the School Board of Independent School District No. 505, Fulda. The policy clarified and set parameters for students who were not enrolled fulltime with the District due to their enrollment in Post-Secondary Enrollment Option courses. The purpose of the policy was multifold and was geared toward eliminating distractions and other issues in school and using resources for the benefit of the District’s student body as a whole, rather than a few students. In particular, the District sought to ease the pressure put on District resources, such as supervision during non-instructional time and library and computer access, caused by students being present in the school for several periods when they are not enrolled in District courses. The District acted to address these issues before they could cause long-term detrimental impacts on the District’s students and employees. Many other local school districts had similar policies, and the Minnesota Department of Education was involved in the initial discussion regarding the policy.
The District Court dismissed the complaint against the District on an early motion to dismiss, finding that the plaintiffs had not stated a valid legal claim warranting relief. The plaintiffs appealed this ruling to the Court of Appeals. In April, the Court of Appeals issued an order upholding the District Court’s dismissal of the complaint against the District. The deadline for seeking further review from the Supreme Court has now passed without an appeal being filed. As such, this lawsuit is now over.
The District is pleased by the decisions it received from the District Court and Court of Appeals in this matter and looks forward to ending the needless diversion of funds to defend against this unfounded litigation. The District notes that while the law regarding PSEO was changed by the legislature in the summer of 2017, the District acted lawfully and prudently at all times to safeguard finite resources and the school’s learning environment for the benefit of the entire school community. With this matter concluded, the District looks forward to continuing its cooperative approach to working with all students, families, and community members in pursuit of the best interests of the student body as a whole.
