Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced today the dismissal of his lawsuit against the State Board of Education, following the Board’s decision to terminate the University of Idaho’s planned acquisition of the University of Phoenix. The lawsuit, originally filed in June 2023, challenged the Board’s compliance with Idaho’s Open Meeting Law during its approval of the controversial and high-dollar transaction.
Labrador’s office filed the lawsuit which began a 14-month legal battle to ensure government transparency. In December 2024, the Idaho Supreme Court delivered a sweeping 4-1 victory for Labrador, overturning a lower court ruling that would have allowed secret government negotiations. The Supreme Court emphasized Idaho’s Open Meeting Law reflects a “preference for sunshine” and rejected interpretations that would “cloak all negotiations and actions taken prior to a final public vote in shadow.”
On June 5, 2025, the State Board voted to authorize termination of the agreement, and the University of Idaho officially executed the termination the same day. With the underlying transaction no longer in effect, both parties agreed to dismiss the lawsuit and cover their own costs of litigation.
