A Madison County circuit judge has issued an order enjoining the Huntsville School District from violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The agreed order -- signed by the judge and attorneys on both sides -- follows an opinion letter that Circuit Judge Doug Martin filed Nov. 29.
A trial was held Nov. 8 in Huntsville, with Martin instructing attorneys to submit closing arguments in briefs.
The school district admitted to several violations of the law, primarily concerning failure to notify the media of public meetings.
According to court documents, school officials mistakenly thought the media shouldn't be notified of meetings that concerned student disciplinary action.
"The Court hereby enjoins the Defendants from violating FOIA by conducting future special meetings related to student conduct and expulsion without providing the press with notice of the time of such meeting as required by Ark. Code Ann. 25-19-106(b)(2), even though the meeting could be closed to the press and public if requested by a parent or guardian pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 6-18-507(d)(2)(B), and such public vote shall be recorded as required by Ark. Code Ann. 25-19-106(d)(1) and shall be maintained for at least a year as required by Ark. Code Ann. 25-19-106(d)(2)," according to the order.
Martin also ordered that members of the Huntsville School Board "receive training in the Freedom of Information Act, and in particular its open meeting provisions, by a person knowledgeable in the Freedom of Information." That training must be completed within two months from the date of the order, which was Dec. 15, although the order didn't appear in the online court record until several days later.
Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen filed the lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court on July 28 on behalf of Benjamin Rightsell of Witter.
According to the order, the specific violations of the law that the School District admitted to include:
• Not notifying the media of a special meeting of the Huntsville School Board on May 3 for the purpose of holding back-to-back hearings regarding discipline of two students. The hearings were held in executive session. The board reconvened and voted in public.
• Failure to maintain a recording of the public portion of the May 3 disciplinary hearings for at least one year.
• Not notifying the media of School Board meetings held Sept. 8, 2020, and Feb. 8, 2021, for the purpose of hearing recommended discipline of students. The board reconvened and voted in public.
• Failure to maintain a recording of the public portion of the Sept. 8, 2020, and Feb. 8, 2021, disciplinary hearings for at least one year.
• Not notifying the media of a "Title IX training" session on or about May 2. "Defendants further admit that they violated the FOIA by failing to record the training session," according to the order.
• Not notifying the media of a training session held on or about April 1 to discuss millage revenue. That training session also wasn't recorded.
Martin also ordered members of the Huntsville School Board not to text one another about school business.
"The Defendants admit that certain text messages were exchanged between members of the Board on the topic of masks in response to the covid crisis," according to the order. "While the parties disagree whether that exchange was an improper meeting in violation of the FOIA, the Defendants are willing to agree that such text message exchanges will not happen in the future."
The court found no violation of the law regarding Count 7 of McCutchen's second amended complaint. Martin decided that the school district didn't violate the law when school officials asked Shannon Hahn, a reporter for the Madison County Record, to leave a building where a School Board meeting was about to take place, prior to announcing that the parents of a student requested that the hearing to be conducted in private or in executive session.
During the trial, the defense argued that Hahn could have seen the parents coming into the building and would be able to identify students involved in a disciplinary issue as a result.
Martin also ruled that the school district violated the law by withholding at least one text message that should have been provided in response to an open-records request. That message wasn't protected from production under the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, according to Martin.
"The Court orders the Defendants to produce all remaining responsive documents requested ... for in-camera review," according to the order. In legal filings, "in camera" means in private.
Martin granted the school district's motion to strike paragraphs 6-9 and Exhibits A and B from the complaint and amended complaint "since those allegations and exhibits contain information that does not bear on the claim of violation of the FOIA."
Those paragraphs and exhibits pertain to an investigation over alleged sexual harassment violations among boys on the junior high school basketball team under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. McCutchen has filed a lawsuit over the Title IX violations in federal court.
Martin ordered McCutchen to provide an affidavit regarding expenses incurred. After giving the school district's attorneys time to respond, the judge will assess attorney's fees and expenses as the court deems proper, according to the order.