Case Title: Michael Poore, et al.
v.
Indianapolis Public Schools

Citation: 

Docket Number: 21S-CT-00105

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 2021-03-18T00:00:00Z

Document:
I N  T H E  
Indiana Supreme Court 
Supreme Court Case No. 21S-CT-105 
 
Michael and Mary Poore,   
Individually and on Behalf of J.P.,   
Appellants,  
–v– 
Indianapolis Public Schools   
and its Board of Education, 
Appellees. 
Decided: March 18, 2021 
Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, 
No. 49D14-1705-CT-18190 
The Honorable James B. Osborn, Judge 
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals 
No. 19A-CT-1439 
Per Curiam Opinion 
Chief Justice Rush and Justices David, Massa, Slaughter, and Goff concur.  
 
FILED
C L E R K
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
Mar 18 2021, 9:46 am
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 21S-CT-105 | March 18, 2021 
Page 2 of 3 
Per curiam.  
The trial court entered judgment in favor of Indianapolis Public Schools 
(IPS) on the Poores’ claims for breach of contract, negligence, and 
violation of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act after IPS refused to 
pay for their son’s advanced math class at Butler University. The Court of 
Appeals affirmed. Poore v. Indianapolis Public Schools, 155 N.E.3d 643, 655 
(Ind. Ct. App. 2020). The Poores sought transfer, joined by the State of 
Indiana as amicus curiae.  
The Poores, IPS, and the State agree that the opinion contains an 
incorrect statement: that International Baccalaureate (IB) courses satisfy 
the requirements of the Dual Credit Statute, Indiana Code section 20-30-
10-4. The Poores also challenge the Court of Appeals’ broader conclusion 
that IPS was not negligent because it complied with its duty to provide 
J.P. with dual credit classes. 
The Poores’ negligence claim in the trial court was premised on IPS’s 
duty to provide their son with the classes necessary to graduate with a 
Core 40 Academic Honors Diploma—a duty the Poores concede that IPS 
fulfilled. Appellants’ Third Am. Br. at 20-21. They therefore waived the 
more specific claim that IPS was negligent for failing to satisfy the Dual 
Credit Statute. See Collins Asset Group, LLC v. Alialy, 139 N.E.3d 712, 714-15 
(Ind. 2020). Accordingly, we grant transfer and summarily affirm the 
Court of Appeals opinion but for Section II, 155 N.E.3d at 650-51, 
which we vacate. See Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A). And while we agree with 
the Court of Appeals’ conclusion that “IPS was not negligent,” 155 N.E.3d 
at 655, we vacate its stated reasoning. Judgment in IPS’s favor is 
warranted not “because [it] did not deny J.P. the benefit of early college 
credits,” but because IPS fulfilled the duty the Poores claimed it breached 
and the Poores otherwise waived their Dual Credit Statute argument. Id. 
Rush, C.J., and David, Massa, Slaughter, and Goff, JJ., concur.  
 
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 21S-CT-105 | March 18, 2021 
Page 3 of 3 
A TT O R N E YS F O R  AP P EL LA N T S 
Alexandra M. Curlin  
Robin C. Clay  
Curlin & Clay Law  
Indianapolis, Indiana  
A TT O R N E YS F O R  AP P EL LE E S 
Liberty L. Roberts  
Kevin S. Smith  
Church Church Hittle & Antrim  
Noblesville, Indiana  
A TT O R N E YS F O R  A M IC US CU R IA E, STA TE  O F I N D IA NA  
Theodore E. Rokita  
Attorney General of Indiana  
Thomas M. Fisher  
Solicitor General of Indiana  
Kian J. Hudson  
Deputy Solicitor General  
Julia C. Payne  
Deputy Attorney General  
Indianapolis, Indiana