Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley parents sue districts over decisions to suspend sports
Four Johnson County parents and two golf players are suing the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley school districts after officials suspended the sport because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both districts temporarily banned all fall sports and activities due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the county, following the advice of health officials. But Overland Park attorney John Duggan, who is representing the families, argued that “you can’t just sweep every sports team up into one big blanket and say they’re all equally impacted by COVID-19. Girls golf is very unique.”
Throughout most of the pandemic, golf courses in the county have been allowed to stay open. And Duggan argued it is a lower risk sport because players use their own equipment and can maintain social distancing.
But health officials have warned against allowing school sports to continue as community spread of the virus remains high. Under state and county criteria for opening schools, if the number of new cases and the percentage of positive tests decline, districts could allow low-risk sports to continue.
The families are suing on behalf of four players on the Shawnee Mission East High School girls golf team and one on the Blue Valley West High School team. Last year, Shawnee Mission East won the Kansas Class 6A state girls golf tournament.
“A lot of these girls are seniors. And they are not going to be able to play their senior season. If you delay it until next spring, those girls likely won’t be able to compete for championships. And other high schools are playing golf,” Duggan said. “They won’t be able to defend their title. And their ability to show their skills for college recruiters will be hurt.”
The only golfers named in the case are 18-year-old sisters Hope and Hanna Robinett. The other players are minors suing through their parents: James and Julie Hepler, Billy Roman and Todd Misemer.
Blue Valley officials responded in a statement to The Star: “Blue Valley wants practices and competitions to resume as soon as it is safe to do so; however, the district is following the gating criteria recommended and approved by the state for the reopening of schools and activities. Extra-curricular activities, including girls golf, were determined in accordance with the state’s gating criteria.”
A Shawnee Mission spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Throughout the region, hundreds of parents and students have been protesting their school districts’ decisions on how to start the school year and whether to allow sports. Now, lawsuits are starting to crop up as well.
In this suit, filed Tuesday in Johnson County District Court, the families request that the districts allow players to compete in the fall season. In the meantime, the families also seek a temporary restraining order, which could let them play the sport while the case moves through court.
The Shawnee Mission district is following Johnson County’s criteria for safely reopening schools, which shows the county is in the “red” zone, as the number of new cases continues to increase. In the “yellow” zone, the county recommends that high-risk sports, such as football, be suspended, but others could continue.
Blue Valley is following the Kansas State Department of Education’s criteria, which shows the county being in the “orange” zone and also recommends the suspension of in-person activities and sports.
Duggan argued that high-risk sports, like volleyball and football, could be moved to a spring season, but golf should continue. The Kansas State High School Activities Association Board of Directors voted last week to allow high schools to move their fall sports seasons to the spring.
He also argued that district officials acted unlawfully when they suspended sports. In both districts, the superintendents announced their decisions without the school boards voting on the matter. Duggan argued that the school boards should have voted to grant administrators that authority.
“Our contention is that this is an action that requires the school boards to have an up or down vote. But the school boards never voted on this. Parents would like there to be a hearing and an up or down vote,” he said.
This same issue was brought up by attorney Ryan Kriegshauser, who is representing a different Blue Valley parent. He filed a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, arguing that the district violated open meetings law because the school board did not vote on how to start the school year.
In response to that claim, Melissa Hillman, the district’s chief legal officer, denied that Blue Valley violated the law or district policy.
“The role of the Board of Education is to set policy and provide oversight to those who are responsible for the day-to-day educational decisions. Once policy is adopted, school administrators are charged with implementation of the policy,” she wrote.
The golf players represented in the lawsuit could not be immediately reached for comment.
Last week, the county reported 815 new cases, or on average, 116 new infections each day.
The positivity rate — which is the average percentage of positive COVID-19 tests over a 14-day period — was 11.4% on Wednesday. That number would need to be below 10% before county health officials recommend that low-risk sports resume.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Johnson County reported 8,362 coronavirus cases, and 118 people have died from the virus.
Earlier that day, Sanmi Areola, county public health director, addressed parents who have been protesting school decisions. Speaking at a virtual town hall hosted by the Shawnee Mission district, he urged residents to continue social distancing and wearing masks, plus avoid parties over Labor Day weekend, worried the holiday will lead to another spike in coronavirus cases.
“Parents who are demanding that schools reopen, that tell me athletics need to start,” Areola said, “this is a chance for you to help contain community spread.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 5:39 PM.
