Breaking: State board members agree to settlement in lawsuit over Open Door Law violations
09/03/2014

 

Plaintiffs who are suing members of the Indiana State Board of Education have released a statement announcing that board members have agreed to a settlement in the case. Members of the board were being sued for alleged violation of Indiana Open Door Law violations.

 

The alleged violations occurred in 2013 when it was discovered that board members drafted a letter by email, without knowledge of Superintendent Ritz, to legislators directing them to calculate school A-F grades instead of the Department of Education. Doing so, it was alleged that the board members had an illegal meeting, without any public disclosure.

 

In late October, 2013, Superintendent Ritz filed a complaint against the state board members for violation of Indiana’s Open Door Law. Her complaint was later dismissed on a technicality with the judge citing protocol in which the complaint should have been filed by the Indiana Attorney General.

 

Following up on the open door complaint, Indiana's Public Access Counselor, advised that the board members might not have technically violated the law, but did violate the spirit of the law.

 

Following the Public Access Counselor’s opinion, a group of former school Superintendents filed a complaint on similar grounds as Ritz’s lawsuit.

 

A judge ruled in July for the case to proceed citing a need for "a full examination of the facts and circumstances of the events in question is necessary," and ordered board members respond to the superintendents' discovery request for copies of their emails that discuss public policy matters.

 

The now released settlement calls for state board members to pay $15,000 in attorney fees to the plaintiffs, as well as court costs. It is unclear if the actual members are paying the fees or if funds are coming from another source. In agreeing to the settlement, the board members make no “admission of fault or improper conduct”.