Becky v. Butte-Silver Bow School Dist. No. 1, BUTTE-SILVER

• Decision Date: 21 November 1995
• Docket Number: R,No. 1,BUTTE-SILVER,No. 95-307,1,95-307
• Citation: 274 Mont. 131,906 P.2d 193
• Parties: , 105 Ed. Law Rep. 292 Raymond G. BECKY and Marge Becky, individually and in behalf of their son Robert Becky, and Robert Becky, as a Petitioner himself, Petitioners and Appellants, v.BOW SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, Robert Miller, and Dan Peters, individually and in their capacities as officers of Butte-Silver Bow School Districtespondents and Respondents.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

Page 193

906 P.2d 193

274 Mont. 131, 105 Ed. Law Rep. 292

Raymond G. BECKY and Marge Becky, individually and in behalf of their son Robert Becky, and Robert Becky, as a Petitioner himself, Petitioners and Appellants, v. BUTTE-SILVER BOW SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, Robert Miller, and Dan Peters, individually and in their capacities as officers of Butte-Silver Bow School District No. 1, Respondents and Respondents.

No. 95-307.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs Oct. 26, 1995.

Decided Nov. 21, 1995.

[274 Mont. 133] Alan F. Blakley, Missoula, for Appellant.

Patrick M. Sullivan, Poore, Roth & Robinson, Butte, for Respondent.

TRIEWEILER, Justice.

Ray and Marge Becky, individually, and on behalf of their son, Robert, filed a petition for a writ of mandate with the District Court for the Second Judicial District in Silver Bow County in which they sought an order directing Butte-Silver Bow School District No. 1 to provide them with documents related to denial of Robert's membership in the National Honor Society. The District Court issued an alternative writ of mandate and scheduled a show cause hearing. After the hearing, the District Court denied the Beckys' petition and quashed the alternative writ of mandate. The Beckys appeal the District Court's order. We affirm the order and judgment of the District Court.

The issue on appeal is:

Did the District Court err when it denied the Beckys' petition for a writ of mandate?

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Robert Becky is a graduate of Butte High School. During his senior year of high school (1994-1995), he became a candidate for membership in the National Honor Society by virtue of his grade point average.

The National Honor Society is an honorary organization sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals to recognize outstanding high school students. It is a nonmandatory organization in which students are selected for membership by high school faculty who voluntarily evaluate the students based on their academic achievements, leadership abilities, character, and service to their school.

Students with grade point averages of 3.3 or above, out of a possible 4.0, are eligible to become members of the National Honor Society. The names of those students who qualify academically are submitted to the participating faculty, who rate the applicants in the nonacademic categories of character, leadership, and service to the school. The teacher evaluations are submitted to a faculty council, which combines the numerical faculty evaluations for each student to arrive at a National Honor Society grade point average. The council then combines the National Honor Society grade point average with the student's The participation of Butte High's students and faculty in the National Honor Society is voluntary, and the school's principal does not consider these activities to be official business of the school. The National Honor Society's faculty evaluation process is done anonymously and confidentially, and the evaluation forms are not maintained by the school. In fact, there are no records kept by the school that pertain to the National Honor Society or that indicate whether a student is a member of that organization.

academic grade point average, and offers membership to those students who meet the National Honor Society requirements.

Robert Becky's name was submitted to the faculty of Butte High School for potential membership in the National Honor Society during his senior year. However, four of the teachers who rated Robert gave him low enough scores that he did not meet the organization's combined requirements. Therefore, he was not selected for membership in the National Honor Society.

When Robert was not selected, his father, Ray, scheduled a meeting with Butte High School Principal Dan Peters. During the meeting, Mr. Peters explained the selection process to Ray and told him that several teachers had rated Robert low in certain categories. Mr. Peters did not release the names of those teachers.

On May 1, 1995, Ray called Mr. Peters and demanded that he release the names of the faculty members who rated his son low on the Honor Society evaluations. Mr. Peters refused to comply with the request. Also on May 1, the Beckys' attorney sent a letter to Robert Miller, Superintendent of Schools for the Butte-Silver Bow School District, in which he requested that all documents related to Robert's candidacy for the National Honor Society be released, including the names of the teachers who rated Robert and their ratings.

On May 4, 1995, the Beckys filed this action in which they requested the District Court to order the School District to provide "each and every record documenting voting for or against Robert's membership in the National Honor Society and including a list of teacher voting and the vote given by each teacher as well as the written procedures for voting."

On May 9, 1995, the School District mailed Robert's student records to the Beckys' attorney. Those records included all documents maintained by the school and subject to inspection pursuant to School District policy. The records did not, however, include the National Honor Society evaluation documents or the names of the faculty members who rated Robert.

On May 10, 1995, the School District filed a motion to quash the alternative writ of mandate which had been issued. On May 11, 1995, a show cause hearing was held, and on June 1, 1995, the District Court issued a memorandum and order in which it denied the Beckys' application for a permanent writ of mandate, quashed the alternative writ of mandate, and dismissed the proceeding.

DISCUSSION

Did the District Court err when it denied the Beckys' petition for a writ of mandate?

The grant or denial of a writ of mandate is a matter of legal interpretation for a district court which we will review to determine if it is correct. Phillips v. City of Livingston (1994), 268 Mont. 156, 161, 885 P.2d 528, 531. A two-part standard applies to the issuance of a writ of mandate. State ex rel. Chisholm v. District Court (1986), 224 Mont. 441, 443, 731 P.2d 324, 325. The writ is available where the party who applies for it is entitled to the performance of a clear legal duty by the party against whom the writ is sought. If there is a clear legal duty, the district court must grant a writ of mandate if there is no available speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. Section 27-26-102, MCA. See also State ex rel. Galloway v. City of Great Falls (1984), 211 Mont. 354, 358, 684 P.2d 495, 497.

In this case, the Beckys petitioned the District Court for a writ of mandate on the basis of Montana's constitutional "right to know" provision which provides:

No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents ... of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.

Mont. Const. art. II, § 9 (emphasis added).

The Beckys asserted that all records or documents kept by the School District constitute public records pursuant to § 2-6-401(2), MCA, and are thus subject to examination as provided by Article II, Section 9, of the Montana Constitution.

The District Court based its order denying the Beckys' application for writ of mandate on an Alabama case which was initiated by the parent of a student who had been denied admission to an honorary society and who sought to have his daughter admitted to that society. The parent in that case filed his claim pursuant to the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. Moore v. Hyche (Ala.1991), 761 F.Supp. 112. The Moore court held that the appellant had no private cause of action under FERPA, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and that there was no property interest in membership in an honorary society.

Although the District Court concluded that Moore is "on all fours with the facts of the case at bar," we find Moore inapposite. In this case, the Beckys did not file their petition on the basis of any federal statute, and they did not claim that Robert had a property interest in membership in the National Honor Society. The Beckys merely claimed access to the National Honor Society records pursuant to the "right to know" provision of the Montana Constitution. Therefore, without addressing the merits of the District Court's conclusion, we hold that the proper basis for evaluating the Beckys' petition for writ of mandate is Article II, Section 9, of the Montana Constitution. This Court will, however, uphold a district court's decision, if correct, even though its reason for that decision may have been incorrect. Norman v. City of Whitefish (1993), 258 Mont. 26, 30, 852 P.2d 533, 535; District No. 55 v. Musselshell County (1990), 245 Mont. 525, 527, 802 P.2d 1252, 1253.

Any review of Article II, Section 9, of the Montana Constitution necessarily involves a three-step process. First, we consider whether the provision applies to the particular political subdivision against whom enforcement is sought. Second, we determine whether the documents in question are "documents of public bodies" subject to public inspection. Finally, if the first two requirements are satisfied, we decide whether a privacy interest is present, and if...