Case Name: Clifford Scott AASE, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. STATE of South Dakota, SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS et al., Defendants and Appellees
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: South Dakota
Decision Date: 1987-01-28
Citations: 400 N.W.2d 269
Docket Number: No. 15246
Parties: Clifford Scott AASE, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. STATE of South Dakota, SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS et al., Defendants and Appellees.
Judges: MORGAN, J., and FOSHEIM, Retired Justice, concur.
Reporter: North Western Reporter 2d
Volume: 400
Pages: 269–278

Head Matter:
Clifford Scott AASE, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. STATE of South Dakota, SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS et al., Defendants and Appellees.
No. 15246.
Supreme Court of South Dakota.
Argued Sept. 15, 1986.
Decided Jan. 28, 1987.
Rehearing Denied March 9,1987.
Celia Miner of Brady, Kabeiseman, Reade & Johnson, Yankton, and David J. Figuli of Wickens, Herzer & Panza, P.C., Greeley, Co., for plaintiffs and appellants.
Terry N. Prendergast of Boyce, Murphy, McDowell & Greenfield, Sioux Falls, Wayne F. Gilbert and Ronald W. Banks of Banks & Johnson, P.C., Rapid City, and John Meyer of South Dakota Board of Regents, Pierre, for defendants and appellees.

Opinion:
HEEGE, Circuit Judge.
This is one of a series of actions brought to test the legality of closing the University of South Dakota at Springfield (USD/S) and the effect of such closing on various individuals. The plaintiffs in this action are students who attended USD/S during the academic year 1983-84. The defendants include the members of the South Dakota Board of Regents, individually and in their capacity as regents. The trial court granted these defendants' motion for summary judgment and the plaintiffs appealed. We affirm.
In the spring of 1984 the South Dakota Legislature enacted Senate Bill 221, which was signed into law as an emergency measure on March 9, 1984. 1984 S.D.Sess. Laws ch. 138. In pertinent part, the bill transferred control of the USD/S grounds and facilities from the Board of Regents to the Board of Charities and Corrections, effective May 1, 1984, and converted the school to a minimum security prison. The bill also permitted the students to finish out the 1983-84 academic year at the Springfield campus and required that the Board of Regents and the Board of Vocational Education take steps to give the students an opportunity to complete their courses of study in South Dakota through articulation agreements and by including a baccalaureate program of vocational education within one of the institutions under their control.
The students filed suit, alleging five counts in the amended complaint: (1) a claim for breach of contract; (2) a claim for injunctive relief to prevent closure of USD/S and a declaration that SB 221 is unconstitutional; (3) a claim for violation of civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1982); (4) a claim for invasion of individual constitutional rights; and (5) claims made under the South Dakota Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. SDCL ch. 37-24.
We conclude, as did the trial court, that based on the record and as a matter of law the students had no enforceable contract rights against the Regents. As a general principle, the relationship between a university and a student is contractual by nature. Corso v. Creighton University, 731 F.2d 529 (8th Cir.1984); 14 C.J.S. Colleges and Universities § 24. However, the only contract formed between the student and the school which he is attending is for the term for which the tuition is paid. See Abbariao v. Hamline University School of Law, 258 N.W.2d 108 (Minn.1977). In the instant case the students were permitted to complete the academic year at the Springfield campus, so no rights of the students were impaired. Plaintiffs did not develop any other contract rights with the Board of Regents.
Plaintiffs claim the trial court erred in holding that SB 221 made impossible the performance of any contract with the Regents; they argue that the Regents could have performed their "contractual obligations" either at Springfield or at other institutions. We need not and do not reach this issue in view of our holding that no contract rights existed after the 1983-84 academic year.
The trial court was not required to determine, and we do not reach, the question of what rights the plaintiffs may have against the Board of Regents under the mandate from the legislature to "assure . the opportunity to complete their course of study in South Dakota_" We are compelled to reach this result because the plaintiffs made no claim against the Regents on that theory in their amended complaint. Moreover, it stands undisputed in the record that the Board of Regents gave the students the opportunity to complete their courses of study in South Dakota as required by SB 221.
With regard to the question of injunctive relief, it is clear that the students are not entitled to a mandatory injunction against closure of the Springfield campus. The constitutionality of SB 221 was previously established in Kanaly, supra, note 1.
The trial court concluded, and we agree, that the Board of Regents is not a person within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1982) and may not be sued under that section. Prostrollo v. University of South Dakota, 507 F.2d 775 (8th Cir.1974), cert. denied 421 U.S. 952, 95 S.Ct. 1687, 44 L.Ed.2d 106 (1975); South Dakota Bd. of Regents v. Hoops, 624 F.Supp. 1179 (D.S.D.1986). Further, the trial court correctly held that the Regents in their individual capacities enjoy a qualified or good faith immunity which applies to the claims made in this action. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); see also Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982); Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U.S. 555, 98 S.Ct. 855, 55 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978); O'Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563, 95 S.Ct. 2486, 45 L.Ed.2d 396 (1975); Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308, 95 S.Ct. 992, 43 L.Ed.2d 214 (1975).
Finally, the trial court concluded, and we agree, that no constitutional rights of the students were invaded and no violation of SDCL ch. 37-24 was shown. Therefore, the trial court was correct in entering summary judgment within the strict standards set forth in Wilson v. Great Northern Ry. Co., 83 S.D. 207, 157 N.W.2d 19 (1968). The evidence viewed most favorably to the plaintiffs establishes that the Board of Regents, individually and in their official capacities, are entitled as a matter of law to judgment dismissing plaintiffs' amended complaint.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
MORGAN, J., and FOSHEIM, Retired Justice, concur.
HENDERSON and SABERS, JJ., dissent.
HEEGE, Circuit Judge, for WUEST, C.J., disqualified.
MILLER, J., not having been a member of the court at the time this action was submitted to the court, did not participate.
. Other cases involving the constitutionality of S.B. 221 or the closing of the Springfield Campus include: Kanaly v. State, 368 N.W.2d 819 (S.D.1985); Merkwan v. State, 375 N.W.2d 624 (S.D.1985); Bonine et al. v. Board of Regents, et al., No. 85-3022, presently pending in U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota, Central Division; Bonine, et al. v. John Meyer, No. 86-4067, presently pending in U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota, Central Division.
. Paragraph V of the first cause of action states: Defendants have breached their contractual relationship and their contracts with Plaintiffs in that now Plaintiffs, through no fault of their own, are unable to complete their educational programs at the University of South Dakota/Springfield.