Did Tim Walz's school board meet to discuss his alleged sexual relationship with a male student? No, that's not true: There's no credible evidence or verified reports that the Alliance Public Schools Board of Education in Nebraska, where Walz taught in the 1990s, ever met to discuss any allegations of sexual abuse involving a teenager and him. Board of Education minutes show that Walz requested and was granted professional leave in March 1996 and then resigned from the district four months later.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X, formerly Twitter, on October 11, 2024. The post's caption said:
Ok Tim, I guess now would be a good time to drop my October surprise. You remember him right? The real reason you walked away from teaching? The kid who spent the night at your home? the one you went to the gay bar with? The reason the school board had a meeting about you? What do you think Tim, should I drop that now? Or should I wait another week or so? You know, the student you were having sex with, the male student you were having sex with? They didn't call you Touchdown Timmy because you were the football coach, oh wait, you lied about that also. You were the assistant coach. What do you think Tim? You remember the Indigo Girls concert, right? The gay bar, spending the night and of course the school board meeting. Think it is time Tim? TOUCHDOWN TIMMY. You were Touchy alright.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Oct 15 16:01:29 2024 UTC)
This post provided no evidence to support any of its assertions about the Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential candidate. However, the same account published another post (archived here) two days later, on October 13, 2024, suggesting -- without proof -- that the Alliance Public Schools Board of Education has "'private' minutes" where the parents of the alleged victim accused Walz of abuse, leading to him taking professional leave before his later resignation later. That post's caption said, in part:
When the parents of the abuser [sic] made a complaint, the School Board had a meeting in March of 1996, at this meeting, they directed Tim Walz to take a professional leave. This leave was to seek treatment for alcoholism and the "private" minutes of this School Board meeting [were] not released.
Alliance Public Schools
In an October 15, 2024, email, Dr. Troy Unzicker, Alliance Public Schools superintendent, provided Lead Stories with the minutes from two Board of Education meetings that included actions involving Walz -- one on March 4, 1996, and a second on July 1, 1996.
At the first meeting, the board approved a "Professional Leave Request" by Walz. A screenshot of the record of this decision appears below:
March 4, 1996
(Source: Alliance Public Schools Board of Education meeting minutes from March 1996 provided on Tue Oct 15 2024 UTC)
At the second meeting, nearly four months later, the board accepted the resignation of Walz and his wife, Gwen. A screenshot of the record of this decision appears below:
July 1, 1996
(Source: Alliance Public Schools Board of Education meeting minutes from March 1996 provided on Tue Oct 15 2024 UTC)
Walz and his wife left western Nebraska for south-central Minnesota, where they both took jobs at Mankato West High School, according to Walz's biography (archived here) on the website of Minnesota's Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan.
Public records
The documents from the 1996 Alliance Public Schools Board of Education meetings were provided to Lead Stories as part of a public records request. In his email, Alliance Public Schools Superintendent Unzicker said:
I have included all records that I believe are considered routine directory information. I trust this has met the requirements of your request.
Nebraska law limits access to Walz's personnel files. Nebraska Revised Statute 79-8,109 (archived here) says this about it:
No other person except school officials while engaged in their professional duties shall be granted access to such file, and the contents thereof shall not be divulged in any manner to any unauthorized person.
State law also spells out which records may be withheld from the public. Nebraska Revised Statute 84-712.05 (archived here) says:
The following records, unless publicly disclosed in an open court, open administrative proceeding, or open meeting or disclosed by a public entity pursuant to its duties, may be withheld from the public by the lawful custodian of the records:
(1) Personal information in records regarding a student, prospective student, or former student of any educational institution ...
(8) Personal information in records regarding personnel of public bodies other than salaries and routine directory information ...
Conclusion
While the social media post suggests the school board met to discuss an alleged sexual relationship involving Walz and a student, it provides no evidence to support this claim. The information in the Board of Education minutes offers no proof of the assertion that "'private' minutes" -- if they exist -- from the March 1996 meeting contain such details. As Lead Stories noted, state law prohibits the release of such information for both teachers and students. However, the absence of those details doesn't prove they exist in the first place.
Read more
While this story only addressed the claim in the social media post that the Alliance school board met to discuss Walz's alleged sexual relationship with a student, Lead Stories addressed related assertions in earlier fact checks:
- Fact Check: Socia Media Posts Do NOT Provide Authentic Emails About A Purported Sexual Assault Allegation Against Tim Walz
- Fact Check: Tim Walz DID Coach High School State Football Championship Team, Did NOT Lose Job Over DUI
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims concerning Tim Walz can be read here. Our fact checks of claims related to the 2024 U.S. general election are here.
