BOISE (IdahoEdNews.Org) — Lawmakers should take “appropriate legal action” against the proposed acquisition of the University of Phoenix, a lawyer for the Legislature said Thursday.
In a 10-page letter to the Legislature released Friday, Legislative Counsel Elizabeth Bowen said the State Board of Education has no policy to buy Phoenix and bring the for-profit online school under the umbrella of a nonprofit organization that works with universities. He said he had no authority to move it. of Idaho.
“Neither the board of directors nor the (I of) U is private and has no legal right to act as if it were private,” Bowen said in the letter.
The letter was sent to a bipartisan group of seven lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Moyle, House State Affairs Committee Chairman Brent Crane, and co-chairs of the Joint Appropriations Committee, Sen. C. Scott Grow and Rep. Wendy Homan. and escalated the opposition in the state legislature. That's more than the $685 million Phoenix acquisition.
The House Department of State introduced a resolution last week asking the state commission to reconsider its May 18 vote approving the purchase. The resolution risks a lawsuit from Congress. The House State Department will likely hold a hearing on the resolution next week, Crane told Idaho Education News on Wednesday.
Related | Idaho lawmakers seek answers about University of Idaho's plan to buy University of Phoenix
Mr Bowen's letter details the council's legal issues:
- Four Three Education, in partnership with U of I, will finance the purchase and oversee Phoenix, but the state board will essentially be taking over Phoenix. And the state board does not have the authority to “acquire, own, or operate” private universities.
- The state board also does not have the authority to create Forthly as a separate legal entity to operate Phoenix.
- This questionable deal (the creation of Four Three) may not hold up in court. “If the State Board of Education and the University of Idaho proceed under the terms of the proposed transaction, they will be doing so at their peril,” Bowen wrote. “Even more alarming, they did so at the risk of the Legislature and the people of Idaho who may be asked to save the University of Idaho from a dire financial judgment.”
The state commission declined to comment on Bowen's letter in a statement Friday afternoon.
“Neither the board nor its staff have been contacted by the council's attorney regarding her letter. We are reviewing the letter and cannot comment at this time,” the board said.
RELATED | Idaho ruling helps pave the way for controversial University of Phoenix acquisition
U of I has long argued that its plan passes a constitutional convention, citing a June opinion from Boise law firm Holly Troxell.
The legislative action could be a second legal challenge to the Phoenix acquisition, and a deadline could be looming.
Attorney General Raul Labrador has appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court, again challenging the state commission's closed-door deliberations on the Phoenix purchase.
Forsley still has to raise funds for the acquisition, but the process has been put on hold while the proposal is mired in court. And in a Supreme Court filing this week, university attorney Kent Nelson said a lengthy appeal could undermine the entire deal.
If a deal is not reached by May 31, either U of I or the University of Phoenix could withdraw.
Originally posted on February 23, 2024 at IdahoEdNews.org
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