Sрencer Daw appeals the decision of the district court dismissing his petition seeking judicial review of a school board decision disciplining his sоn for an alleged violation of school rales regarding the bringing of a weapon onto school grounds. We affirm the district court’s decision that bеcause there is no statute providing for the judicial review of school board decisions, the district court did not have jurisdiction to entertain Daw’s petition.
I.FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Duncan Daw, a minor, was alleged to have brought a gun 1 onto school grounds during a choir concert at Taylorview Junior High School on March 15, 2000. On April 12, 2000, the School District 91 Board of Trustees (schoоl board) held a hearing regarding the allegations. After considering information presented at the hearing, the school board found that Duncan had carried a weapon onto school property and had threatened to use it against another student. It then expelled him from school fоr a period of at least one year. 2
On May 10, 2000, Spencer Daw, on behalf of his son, filed a petition for judicial review of the school board decision. The school board moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that there was no statute specifically providing for judicial review of thе school board’s decision. The district court agreed and dismissed Daw’s petition, and he then filed this appeal.
II.ISSUES ON APPEAL
1. Does Idaho Code § 1-705 grant appellant the right to appeal the decision of the school board to the district court?
2. Should the school board be awarded attorney fеes on appeal?
III.ANALYSIS
A. Does Idaho Code § 1-705 grant appellant the right to appeal the decision of the school board to the district court?
Daw’s petition for judicial review of the school board’s decision is a request to appeal that decision to the district court. Hе concedes that the right to appeal is statutory.
Striebeck v. Employment Sec.
Agency,
*808 Daw argues that the right to judicial review in this ease is implied in Idаho Code § 1-705(3), which provides that the district court’s appellate jurisdiction extends to “all cases assigned to magistrate’s division of the district court; аnd to all other mattei’s and cases wherein appeal is allowed by law.” Equating the word “appeal” with “review,” he argues that if a district court can review a decision of a school board, then Idaho Code § 1-705(3) permits that decision to be appealed to the district court. Because district courts have jurisdiction to review a school board’s violations of the state and federal constitutions, it must therefore have jurisdiction to exercise appellate jurisdiction, over those alleged violations.
There is obviously a distinction between a court reviewing an аlleged constitutional violation in an appropriate lawsuit brought for that purpose and a court exercising appellate review of the same issue. For example, in
Bowler v. Board of Trustees of School District No. 392, Shoshone County,
At the outset, it is important to recognize what this case does not involve. It does not involve an appellate review of the type found in I.C. § 67-5215 (relating to appeals frоm administrative agencies). We are aware of no statute providing for judicial appellate review from decisions of the board of trustees of a school district, and none has been called to our attention by counsel for the parties. This ease does not involve a claim for breach of contract, as did the case of Robinson v. Joint School Dist. No. 150,100 Idaho 263 ,596 P.2d 436 (1979). Appellant’s claim is simply and solely that he was denied procedural due procеss of law.
Bolder,
Idaho Code § 1-705 does not grant appellate jurisdiction to district courts in matters other than appeals from the magistrate division. It simply рrovides that the appellate jurisdiction of district courts extends “to all other matters and cases where appeal is allowed by law.” Bеcause the right to appeal is statutory, an appeal from such other matters and cases is not “allowed by law” unless the legislature has enacted a statute permitting such appeal. The legislature has not enacted a statute permitting an appeal from the type оf decision made by the school board in this case. Therefore, the district court did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal filed by Daw.
B. Should thе school board be awarded attorney fees on appeal?
The school board seeks attorney fees on appeal pursuant to Idaho Code § 12-117(1), which provides:
Unless otherwise provided by statute, in any administrative or civil judicial proceeding involving as adverse partiеs a state agency, a city, a county or other taxing district and a person, the court shall award the prevailing party reasonable attоrney’s fees, witness fees and reasonable expenses, if the court finds that the party against whom the judgment is rendered acted without a reasonable basis in fact or law.
The statute authorizes the awarding of attorney fees on appeal,
Rural Kootenai Org., Inc. v. Board of Commissioners,
The school board is the prevailing party on this appeal. In appealing the judgment of the district court, Daw acted without a rеasonable basis in law or in fact. He concedes, “[I]t is well established any right to appeal (review) is statutory.” His argument that Idaho Code § 1-705 implicitly grants a right to appeal in this case is simply not a reason *809 able constraction of the statute. Therefore, the school board is awarded attorney fees on appeal.
IV. CONCLUSION
The appellate jurisdiction of the district courts is statutory. Because the legislature has not granted аppellate jurisdiction to the district courts to review the type of decision made by the school board in this case, the district court did not havе jurisdiction to hear Daw’s appeal. The school board is awarded costs and attorney fees on appeal.
Notes
. At the school board hearing on the issue, Spencer Daw stated that the gun brought to school by his son was a BB pistol.
. The school board later аllowed Duncan to enroll in a different school within the district at the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year, so the expulsion actually imposed was for approximately the last month of the 1999-2000 school year.