J.S. v. Grand Island Public Schools, 899 N.W.2d 893

A Barr Middle School student, J.S., anonymously posted on social media from home: “Tomorrow gonna be hella fire… be there (School),” which another student followed with “Don’t show up to school tomorrow [gun emoji]”. Police notified school.
The next day the school increased security; over 100 parent calls came in, 17 students were checked out, and the school searched for threats.
School investigators interviewed students; J.S. admitted making the “hella fire” post (but not the gun-emoji post). The principal sent her home and suspended her 15 days.
J.S. administratively appealed; the superintendent and the school board both upheld the suspension. She then filed a petition in Hall County District Court seeking judicial review under the Student Discipline Act.
J.S. filed the petition timely, but the record shows she did not serve the board with a summons and petition; the board filed a voluntary appearance and waived service under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-516.01. The district court affirmed the suspension on the merits.
On appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that because J.S. did not serve a summons and copy of the petition on the board as required by statute, the district court (and thus the Supreme Court) lacked subject matter jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal as void.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court acquired subject matter jurisdiction under § 79-289 despite lack of formal service because the board voluntarily appeared	J.S.: voluntary appearance and waiver under § 25-516.01 equates to service and satisfies § 79-289	GIPS: parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction by consent; voluntary appearance does not cure statutory service requirement	Held: No jurisdiction—statutory service (summons + copy of petition on the board) is mandatory and was not performed, so the district court’s action was void
Whether failure to serve summons within statutory mode/time bars judicial review under the Student Discipline Act	J.S.: compliance with § 25-516.01 and board’s acknowledgement meant requirements were met	GIPS: Concordia precedent requires strict compliance; service requirement is jurisdictional	Held: Strict compliance required; failure to serve prevented invocation of district court jurisdiction

Concordia Teachers College v. Nebraska Dept. of Labor, 252 Neb. 504, 563 N.W.2d 345 (1997) (statutory requirement to serve summons within the prescribed time is jurisdictional)
Medicine Creek v. Middle Republican NRD, 296 Neb. 1, 892 N.W.2d 74 (2017) (appellate court must determine jurisdiction sua sponte)
Clarke v. First Nat. Bank of Omaha, 296 Neb. 632, 895 N.W.2d 284 (2017) (parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction by consent)
Essman v. Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center, 252 Neb. 347, 562 N.W.2d 355 (1997) (administrative review jurisdiction requires both filing petition and serving summons)