Hugh v. the Goshen County Sch. Dist. No. 1

256 P.3d 487

269 Ed. Law Rep. 345

2011 WY 91

Hugh and Lee HAGEMAN, as parents and next friends of C and LH; Dewey and Dinelle Hageman, as parents and next friends of T, M and WH; Robert and Johanna Abernathy, as parents and next friends of TA; Chad and Sandy Arnett, as parents and next friends of K, T and TA; Greg and Jolene Bebo, as parents and next friends of N, J and MB; Mark and Rose Bebo, as grandparents and next friends of N, J and MB; Todd and Anne Berry, as parents and next friends of L and CB; Richard and Lucinda Breedlove, as parents and next friends of RWB; Jerry and Kim Bremer, as parents and next friends of CB; Eric and Shelly Duncan, as parents and next friends of J and ID; Dan Ellis, as the parent and next friend of ZE; Cory and Dawn Gilchriest, as parents and next friends of C and SG; Eddie and Tami Greenwald, as parents and next friends of K and MG; Shawn and Marlisa Hall, as parents and next friends of H and JH; J.L. and Sherri Herbst, as parents and next friends of BH; Byron and Donna Juma, as parents and next friends of B, S, C and TJ; Shane and Cherie Limmer, as parents and next friends of C and ML; Jeff and Kari McClun, as parents and next friends of K, K and KM; Marla McNees, as parent and next friend of PM; Brett A. Meyer, as parent and next friend of G, K, and TM; Paul and Christine Miller, as parents and next friend of P, S and PM; Jeff Mueller, as parent and next friend of C and TM; Lois A. Paules, as grandmother of J and DG; Alvin and Rennae Ruiz, as parents and next friends of LR; Tim and Michele Toedter; Rocky and Paula Vaughn, as parents and next friends of C and MV; Terry and Mary Viktorin; Shane Viktorin; David and Susan Walker; as parents and best friends of T and EW; Russell and JoAnne Walter, as parents and next friends of KW; Michael and Gretchen Wollert, as parents and next friends of C, T G, and GW, Appellants (Plaintiffs),

v.The GOSHEN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1; Ray Schulte, in his official capacity as Superintendent of Goshen County School District No. 1; Linda Kessler, Linda Johnson, Clark House, Brent Kaufman, Jim Eddington, Ed Jolovich, Charlie Harshberger, and Rob Branham, in their official capacities as members of the Board of Trustees of the Goshen County School District No. 1, Appellees (Defendants).

No. S–10–0009.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

June 6, 2011.

Representing Appellants: Kara Brighton and Harriet M. Hageman, Hageman & Brighton, PC, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Argument by Ms. Hageman.Representing Appellees: Tracy J. Copenhaver, Copenhaver, Kath, Kitchen & Kolpitcke, LLC, Powell, Wyoming.Before KITE, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, VOIGT ^*, and BURKE, JJ.BURKE, Justice.

[¶ 1] In an effort to address a perceived drug and alcohol problem among its students, Goshen County School District No. 1 adopted a policy requiring all students who participate in extracurricular activities to consent to random testing for alcohol and drugs. Appellants initiated litigation, claiming that the Policy is unconstitutional. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the School District. Appellants challenge that decision in this appeal. We affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] These issues were raised by the Appellants and adopted by the Appellees:

1. Whether the district court erred in refusing to declare that the District's “Mandatory Drug Testing for Students Involved in Extracurricular Activities” violates [the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures of] Article 1, § 4 of the Wyoming Constitution.

2. Whether the district court erred in refusing to declare that the District's Drug Testing Policy violates Article 1, §§ 2 and 3 of the Wyoming Constitution, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

3. Whether the district court erred in refusing to declare that the District's Drug Testing Policy violates Article 1, § 6 of the Wyoming Constitution, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

4. Whether the district court erred in refusing to enjoin the District from implementing the Drug Testing Policy.

5. Whether the district court erred in granting the District's Motion for Summary Judgment.

FACTS

[¶ 3] For the past several years, Goshen County School District No. 1 has participated in surveys of its students, known as the “Wyoming Youth Risk Surveys.” According to the affidavit of the School District's Superintendent, the surveys revealed “a serious prevalence of alcohol and drug use among Goshen County School District No. 1 students. Goshen County has ranged at or near the top for alcohol and drug use for several of those surveys.” The School District participated in another statewide survey in 2008, the “Wyoming Prevention Needs Assessment State Profile Report.” This survey indicated that:

[I]n 2008 26% of our sixth graders had used alcohol at some point, 10% had used cigarettes; and 6% inhalants, with 4% of the sixth graders having used inhalants within the past 30 days; 3% of our sixth graders reported binge drinking; 33% of Goshen County eighth graders were perceived to be at risk [of] harm [from] drug use; 41% of tenth grade students were perceived to be at risk [of] harm [from] drug use; 47% had friends who use drugs; ... 44% were deemed to have favorable attitudes toward drug use; 52% of twelfth grade students were at risk [of] harm [from] drug use; 40% expressed an intent to use; 43% had friends who used drugs; ... 50% were classified as at risk for early initiation of drug use.

Concern over the pervasiveness of drug and alcohol use among its students prompted the School District to hold a public forum on February 2, 2009, to discuss the possibility of requiring students to take random drug and alcohol tests. Following that forum, on April 14, 2009, the School District's Board of Trustees adopted a new policy requiring all students in grades 7 through 12 who participate in extracurricular activities to consent to random testing for drugs and alcohol. According to the School District's Superintendent:

The policy recognizes that many of the students participating in extracurricular activities are viewed as role models to other students and that it is important that they avoid drug and alcohol use in their position as role models. It is also the position of the Board that to achieve the goal of reducing risks of alcohol and drug abuse and to maximize the skills and talents participating in extracurricular activities, it is important that participants refrain from drug and alcohol use. It is the belief of our school district that this policy will assist in that endeavor.

Testing is done chiefly through urinalysis, although testing may also be done with saliva or breath samples.

[¶ 4] Appellants, referred to collectively as the Coalition, are a group of students and their parents or guardians ¹ who filed a declaratory judgment action in district court seeking to have the School District's Policy declared unconstitutional. After briefing and argument, the district court concluded that the drug testing program did not violate either the Wyoming Constitution or the United States Constitution. It granted summary judgment in favor of the School District, and the Coalition appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 5] We review a district court's decision granting summary judgment using this standard of review:

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. W.R.C.P. 56(c); Metz Beverage Co. v. Wyoming Beverages, Inc., 2002 WY 21, ¶ 9, 39 P.3d 1051, 1055 (Wyo.2002). “A genuine issue of material fact exists when a disputed fact, if it were proven, would establish or refute an essential element of a cause of action or a defense that the parties have asserted.” Id. Because summary judgment involves a purely legal determination, we undertake de novo review of a trial court's summary judgment decision. Glenn v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 2008 WY 16, ¶ 6, 176 P.3d 640, 642 (Wyo.2008).

Jacobs Ranch Coal Co. v. Thunder Basin Coal Co., LLC, 2008 WY 101, ¶ 8, 191 P.3d 125, 128–29 (Wyo.2008). In the case before us now, the Coalition and the School District agree that there are no genuine issues of material fact. They disagree, however, about whether the district court correctly applied the provisions of the Wyoming and United States Constitutions to the undisputed facts. “Issues arising under the constitution are questions of law which we review de novo.”

Bush v. State, 2008 WY 108, ¶ 48, 193 P.3d 203, 214 (Wyo.2008); Wilkening v. State, 2007 WY 187, ¶ 6, 172 P.3d 385, 386 (Wyo.2007).

DISCUSSION

Search and Seizure

[¶ 6] The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, § 4 of the Wyoming Constitution prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. See Pena v. State, 2004 WY 115, ¶ 29, 98 P.3d 857, 870 (Wyo.2004). The parties agree, as do we, that the drug tests mandated by the Policy are searches for purposes of constitutional analysis. See ALJ v. State, 836 P.2d 307, 311 (Wyo.1992) (“[T]he testing of urine is a search.”); Doles v. State, 994 P.2d 315, 318 (Wyo.1999) (“Obtaining a blood or saliva sample is a search and seizure implicating Fourth Amendment privacy rights.”). Generally, the Coalition contends that the searches at issue here are unreasonable, and therefore unconstitutional.

[¶ 7] The Coalition concedes that the Policy does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It contends, however, that Article 1, § 4 of the Wyoming Constitution provides greater protections, under the facts of this case, than those afforded by the Fourth Amendment. In support of this contention, the Coalition relies heavily on Vasquez v. State, 990 P.2d 476 (Wyo.1999) and O'Boyle v. State, 2005 WY 83, 117 P.3d 401 (Wyo.2005). In Vasquez, we considered the United States Supreme Court's decision in New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 2860, 69 L.Ed.2d 768 (198...