Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley | North Dakota Attorney General's Office
Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley | North Dakota Attorney General's Office
On September 10, 2025, the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion in response to a request from Karen Jordan regarding access to school bus route records managed by Harlow’s School Bus Service under contract with the Mandan Public School District.
Jordan asked whether Harlow’s violated state law by refusing to release school bus routes related to its contract with the district. The Attorney General concluded that Harlow’s is not considered a public entity under North Dakota law because it provides services at fair market value. As such, it is not subject to open meetings laws.
However, the opinion noted that while Harlow’s itself is not required to comply with open records requests, any district records held by Harlow’s may still fall under open records laws. It remains the responsibility of the Mandan Public School District to respond to such requests. The opinion also stated that Jordan did not submit her request for records directly to the district despite being informed of this requirement.
The full text of the opinion can be found at 2025-0-13.
Alerts Sign-up