EVANSTON — The Uinta County School District No. 1’s policy allowing for concealed carry of firearms by approved staff has been declared null and void. Judge Nena James of the Third District Court of Sweetwater County issued her decision on Friday, Sept. 14.

Policy CKA was passed by the UCSD No. 1 Board of Trustees in March of this year following the passage of legislation during the 2017 session of the Wyoming Legislature that granted districts the authority to adopt rules and regulations allowing for approved staff to carry concealed firearms.

In June a civil suit was filed by attorney Sharon Rose on behalf of Evanston residents Tim Beppler and Monica Vozakis and her minor children. The suit claimed the district had violated rulemaking requirements of the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act (WAPA) in adopting the policy.

James’ decision said there were two issues in the case; namely, what rules, if any, the board was required to follow in adopting the policy, and whether the board followed those rules. The decision said to determine what rules needed to be followed it was necessary to determine whether policy CKA was a substantive or an interpretive rule.

James’ decision said the policy was clearly a substantive rule because the board did more than simply clarify or explain an existing law or regulation when it implemented training requirements and conditions for concealed carry of firearms that are not in the authorizing statute, W.S. 21-3-132, the enabling statute passed by the Wyoming Legislature in 2017.

James rejected the district’s argument that policy CKA only impacted internal management of an agency and was therefore an interpretive rule. The decision reads, in part, “The School Firearms Policy deals with the deployment of firearms by concealed carry license holders around children during school hours and it creates an ongoing obligation to spend money, and, as such, public rights and obligations are impacted.”

With the decision that the policy was indeed a substantive rule, the issue then became whether the board adhered to the requirements of the WAPA in adopting the policy. James’ decision read, “Without belaboring the point, the Board did not provide proper notice of its intended action. In the process of reading the proposed policy at two meetings, in both instances it modified the version of the policy going forward, thus failing to give at least forty-five (45) days’ notice of its intended action. The public was denied fundamental due process rights of notice and right to be heard at properly advertised hearings.”

In the conclusion, James wrote, “the fundamental rights of the community, including students, their parents and school employees” were impacted and therefore the requirements of WAPA applied. She said the board of trustees failed to adhere to those requirements and policy CKA is null and void.

During the court proceedings and at the most recent school board meeting, comments by school district attorney Geoff Phillips and superintendent Ryan Thomas implied that the decision would be appealed, no matter what the ruling, and would ultimately end up before the Wyoming Supreme Court.

The board also indicated it was pursuing resolutions to take before the Wyoming School Board Association to press the legislature to revisit the statute and clarify that WAPA need not be followed by districts implementing W.S. 21-3-132, thereby rendering it unnecessary for the district to continue fighting the case in court.

When reached for comment regarding Friday’s ruling, Thomas said only that the district will honor the decision.