On September 10, 2025, the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office issued Opinion 2025-O-13 in response to a request from Karen Jordan. Jordan sought clarification on whether Harlow’s School Bus Service violated state law by refusing to release school bus routes related to its contract with the Mandan Public School District.
The opinion determined that Harlow’s School Bus Service is not considered a public entity under North Dakota law because it provides services to the Mandan Public School District at fair market value. According to the Attorney General’s Office, “It is my opinion that Harlow’s provides services to the District at fair market value and is therefore not a public entity as defined under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(13). The District records in the possession of Harlow’s may be subject to the open records law, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the District to provide a response. Despite being informed of this, the requester failed to request the records from the District.”
This means that while Harlow’s itself does not fall under open meetings laws, any district records held by Harlow’s could still be subject to open records requirements. However, requests for such records must be directed to the Mandan Public School District rather than directly to Harlow’s.
The full text of Opinion 2025-O-13 can be accessed online: 2025-0-13
