A former Idaho Supreme Court Justice is suing the public school districts in his state for charging students fees.

Justice Robert Huntley filed a class action lawsuit alleging that charging the fees "constitutes an unlawful deprivation and taking of private property without due process of law or just compensation" in violation of the students' rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit also claims school supply lists of items for students to purchase "amounts to a form of state coercion of plaintiffs to pay for essential elements of a free public education."

According to news reports, the complaint further charges that school districts have created an environment fueled by peer pressure on students to buy such supplies. Huntley wants school districts to stop charging and to reimburse parents for money spent and fees since 2012.

"School leaders and patrons should insist that the governor and the legislators honor their constitutional duty to properly fund education," he said. "We are hopeful this lawsuit will give them the impetus to do so."

Huntley served on the highest court from 1982-89. He was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1998.

—Source: cdapress.com