This appeal involved the denial of applications filed on behalf of several Belmond-Klemme students who wanted to open enroll to attend Garner-Hayfield Community School District, beginning in the fall of the 1999-2000 school year. All of the applications were filed after the January 1, 1999, deadline for open enrollment, but they were filed prior to the June 30, 1999, deadline for students who have "statutory good cause" for late-filing. Appellants' position was that they have "good cause" for filing after the January 1 deadline. During the course of the seven-hour hearing, the majority of the testimony and evidence presented by the Appellants concerned issues of quality of the District's curriculum, the safety of its facilities, and the stability of its finances. The hearing panel found that that evidence was not relevant to the issue of "good cause."

Under the precedent established by the State Board of Education under the Open Enrollment Law, the State Board has no authority for overturning the District Board's denial. The provisions of 281 Iowa Administrative Code 17.4(3) specifically provide that designation of attendance centers within a district and assignment of students to those attendance centers are not "good cause". Similarly, Iowa Code section 282.18(16)(1999) implies that the closure of a public school does not constitute good cause because it specifically limits good cause to "permanent closure of a nonpublic school". Id.

Furthermore, a decision to grant the open enrollment applications in this case would be inconsistent with the exercise of the State Board's extraordinary power bestowed by Iowa Code section 282.18(18)(1999), upon which Appellants so strongly relied.

The hearing panel and administrative law judge recommended affirmance of the District Board's decision.