North Dakota
School choice task force should hold meetings in public
On Aug. 14, I watched with great interest the interim Education Committee meeting that took place at the state Capitol. Toward the end of the meeting, committee Chair Sen. Michelle Axtman updated the committee on the work of the school choice task force (SCTF). Axtman went on to say that the task force “is not legislatively driven” and has met “multiple times.” Excellent reporting by Amy Dalrymple in the North Dakota Monitor notes that the SCTF has met three times, and Axtman has indicated that it will meet in the future as the task force inches “closer to really cementing what possible legislation would look like.”
According to Axtman, because this committee/task force “is not legislatively driven,” this group does not have to post notifications of its meetings, open the meetings to the public, produce minutes of the meetings, or otherwise comply with our state’s open meetings requirements. I know she is following the advice of the director of Legislative Council, but that advice is causing many people in North Dakota — including members of Axtman’s interim Education Committee — great concern about transparency.
I am not surprised to learn that “school choice” is being studied this interim. When the Legislature narrowly passed HB 1532 then failed to override Gov. Doug Burgum’s veto of that voucher bill, it was clear that the proponents of giving public dollars to private, parochial and homeschools would be back with another plan to accomplish their goal.
What I am surprised about, however, is that an ad hoc “not legislatively driven” task force is doing the work of drafting legislation to be considered, rather than a subcommittee of the interim Education Committee. Section 13 of
SB 2284
says “… the legislative management shall study school choice models,” yet, the SCTF that Sen. Axtman has referenced includes just three of the interim Education Committee’s 21 members. It is worth noting that the lobbyist for the State Association of Nonpublic Schools and the vice president of academic affairs for the Light of Christ Catholic Schools, among others, have seats at the table as the SCTF gets “closer to really cementing what possible legislation would look like.”
Now, while I disagree with the notion that North Dakota taxpayers should be paying to support private and parochial schools in North Dakota, I welcome the discussion. But that discussion should occur in public, not in secrecy. Just because one can hold “not legislatively driven” meetings in private, does not mean that one should. When legislation is being crafted that will impact something as important as the education of our children, why wouldn’t all of us want to see how that legislation develops?
The closed-to-the-public meetings lead North Dakotans to question the motives of those involved. The Department of Public Instruction ought not be using taxpayer monies to pay the Hunt Institute to facilitate private legislator retreats or this “not legislatively driven” task force that are not open to the public. It is not a good look for DPI, Hunt or our legislators.
Look, I believe Axtman when she says that she and the others are working hard to improve education for all students. I know her to be an honorable and resolute public servant. All I would ask, however, is for that work to be done in public with an opportunity for all voices on the matter to be heard.
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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