Schafer v. Lakeview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 2167
- Donovan Frank
- 0:23-cv-01503
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 3
In Schafer v. Lakeview Public Schools, Judge Frank dissolved the temporary restraining order and denied Schafer’s request to restore G.S.’s athletic eligibility.
G.S., the minor student-athlete, was not restored to eligibility to compete in the scheduled track-and-field subsection competition; Lakeview Public Schools’ eligibility decision remained in effect.
What happened
Schafer v. Lakeview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 2167 concerns G.S., a minor whose failing fourth-quarter grade made him ineligible to compete in track and field under school and Minnesota State High School League rules. His parent and legal guardian, Joshua Schafer, asked the court for a temporary restraining order.
The court concluded that Schafer had not shown a sufficient chance of winning the underlying dispute. It also found that Schafer had not shown irreparable harm from G.S.’s ineligibility, and that the balance of harms favored the school district because it applied its academic-eligibility rules to other athletes as well.
Judge Donovan W. Frank dissolved the temporary restraining order previously issued in the case and denied Schafer’s motion for a temporary restraining order.
The detailed version
- Schafer v. Lakeview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 2167 · No. 0:23-cv-01503
- Donovan Frank
- May 24, 2023
Background
Joshua Schafer, acting as the parent and legal guardian of G.S., a minor, filed an amended motion for a temporary restraining order under Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A temporary restraining order is a short-term court order intended to preserve the existing situation while the court considers the request. The court had previously issued such an order to preserve the status quo.
The Lakeview Activities Handbook and Minnesota State High School League rules made G.S. ineligible to compete in track and field after he received a failing grade during the fourth quarter. The ineligibility began at 9:00 a.m. on May 24, 2023, preventing him from participating in a track-and-field subsection competition scheduled for May 25, 2023.
Court’s Analysis
After hearing both sides and reviewing the record, the court applied the factors used for temporary restraining orders. The court found that Schafer had not shown a likelihood of succeeding on the merits because he had not demonstrated that the school district improperly applied its athletic-eligibility policies to G.S. Schafer also had not shown that the policies’ requirement that a student-athlete remain in “good standing” under school and Minnesota State High School League rules violated G.S.’s due process rights.
The court further found that Schafer had not established irreparable injury from the timing of G.S.’s ineligibility, which occurred at the end of his season. The balance of harms favored the school district because it was responsible for maintaining academic eligibility and had applied its rules to other athletes for academic reasons. Treating G.S. differently would not serve the interests of the school or other athletes.
Disposition
Judge Donovan W. Frank ordered that the temporary restraining order entered on May 23, 2023, be dissolved. The court also denied Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.