DALLAS - The Fifth Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed Midwestern State University’s plea to the jurisdiction in a discrimination lawsuit.
The challenge was brought by Regina Wren, who was admitted to MSU’s Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program for the 2010-2011 academic year.
According to the Fifth Court’s opinion, in the spring semester of 2016, after an unsatisfactory performance on her FNP II clinical practicum exam, Wren was not allowed to continue in the course. MSU requested she withdraw from FNP II in order to avoid receiving an “F” as a grade for the class. Wren was required to enroll in a special topics course in the fall semester of 2016 in order to continue with the FNP program, but did not do so.
In August 2016, she emailed MSU stating she could not continue with the FNP program due to “financial reasons” and was voluntarily withdrawing from the program. In April 2018, Wren filed suit in federal court alleging several claims based on disability and race discrimination.
The case was dismissed and in April 2020 Wren initiated another lawsuit in state court. MSU filed a plea to the jurisdiction, which the trial court granted, leading to the appeal.
The Fifth Court found that Wren’s argument that her constitutional rights were violated do not state a claim for which relief could be granted, and even if she had, there was no waiver of sovereign immunity identified to allow her claim.
“The trial court did not err in granting MSU’s plea to the jurisdiction on this ground,” the opinion states. “We affirm the trial court’s grant of MSU’s plea to the jurisdiction.”
Appeals case No. 05-22-00207-CV