Title 15, Education

If it appears necessary in order to ascertain the true boundaries of any tract of land or to enable the commissioner of university and school lands to describe or dispose of the same in suitable and convenient lots, the board of university and school lands may order all necessary…

Each sale of lands under the supervision of the board of university and school lands is subject to approval and confirmation by the board. No sale may be approved or confirmed by the board unless, from an examination of the certified lists and other information received and inves…

Any sale made by mistake, or not in accordance with law, or obtained by fraud is void, and the purchase agreement or contract of purchase issued thereon is of no effect. In such case, the holder of the purchase agreement or contract shall be required to surrender it to the board …

A contract of purchase of lands, made pursuant to the provisions of this title, entitles the purchaser, or the purchaser's heirs or assigns, to the possession of the lands therein described and to maintain actions for injuries done to the lands or to recover possession thereof, u…

An assignee of a bona fide purchaser of any of the lands mentioned in this title is subject to and governed by the provisions of this chapter applicable to the purchaser of whom the person is an assignee, and has the same rights in all respects as an original purchaser of the sam…

When the holder of a contract of purchase surrenders the same to the commissioner of university and school lands with a written request to have it divided into two or more contracts, the commissioner, when the application has been approved by the board of university and school la…

The board of university and school lands may cause a new contract to be issued to the holder of any contract for the purchase of land subject to its control and a conveyance to be made to a railroad company for railroad right of way when the holder of the contract shall: 1. Surre…

The purchaser of any land sold by the board of university and school lands, or the purchaser's heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, shall pay to the commissioner of university and school lands any amounts that may become due from time to time upon the contract for princi…

If the annual interest or any installment of the purchase price is not paid within thirty days after the same becomes due under the provisions of any contract for sale, or if the taxes are not paid upon the lands described in said contract in accordance with the provisions of the…

When a contract has been canceled under the provisions of this chapter, the purchaser or the purchaser's heirs or assigns, during a period of one year from the date of such cancellation, may pay to the commissioner of university and school lands all past-due payments on principal…

The fee of each parcel of land sold on contract must remain in the state until a patent or deed is issued therefor as provided in this title. After a failure on the part of the purchaser, or the purchaser's heirs or assigns, to comply with the terms of the contract or with the pr…

Patents for original grant lands sold under the provisions of this title must be issued to the purchaser or the purchaser's heirs or assigns, when payment is made in full for the lands and all the terms of the contract of purchase are performed. All such patents must be signed by…

When patents for public lands have been or may be issued, in pursuance of any law of this state, to a person who has died before the date of such patent, the title of the land designated therein inures to and vests in the heirs, devisees, or assignees of such deceased patentees a…

The recorders of the several counties are authorized to record all patents issued by the governor pursuant to the provisions of this title, and the record thereof has the same effect as the record of other conveyances executed according to the laws of this state.

As soon as possible after a sale of lands, the commissioner of university and school lands shall transmit to the auditor of the county in which the land is located a detailed description of the land and the name of the purchaser, and the county auditor shall enter the land upon t…

When real property owned by the state of North Dakota as trustee of permanent school funds for the use and benefit thereof is sold upon contract providing for a future conveyance, the department or office making such contract on the part of the vendor shall immediately notify the…

In the event that a vendee governed by the provisions of section 15-08-18.1, or the vendee's heirs, purchases real property under the terms and conditions of any law granting a preference right of purchase, the taxes levied upon the real property under the provisions of section 1…

The provisions of sections 15-08-18.1 and 15-08-18.3 shall not apply if the real property involved is purchased at a public sale.

Property contracted to be sold by the state is subject to taxation from the date of the contract, and the taxes assessed thereon must be collected and enforced in the same manner as taxes against other property. If the contract is not canceled or if the contract has been canceled…

1. Upon written request, the commissioner of university and school lands may allow by written agreement or permit, an organized event involving public access or activity on trust lands if the event: a. Is an appropriate use of trust lands; b. Does not damage trust lands; c. Does …

1. Nonvehicular public access to leased and unleased trust lands is allowed if in the best interests of the trusts, unless: a. Specifically prohibited by the commissioner of university and school lands; or b. A lessee of any lands under the control of the board of university and …

The use of vehicles on trust lands is prohibited, except: 1. Within thirty-three feet [10.06 meters] of section lines; 2. As allowed by the terms of a lease, permit, or easement issued by the board of university and school lands; 3. When used for travel on a public road easement …

1. The following activities and items are prohibited on trust lands: a. Target shooting, explosives, and exploding targets; b. Camping, picnicking, or campfires; c. Unattended trail cameras, hunting blinds, tree stands, and screw-in steps unless otherwise authorized by the commis…

Any person who commits any trespass upon any of the surface or subsurface lands and resources controlled by the board of university and school lands is liable in treble damages in an action to be brought in the name of the state, if the trespass is adjudged to have been willful, …

Any person who willfully trespasses upon any of the lands subject to control of the board of university and school lands, either by cutting down or destroying any timber or wood standing or growing thereon, or by carrying away any timber or wood therefrom, or by mowing or cutting…

In addition to the penalties provided in this chapter for trespass upon lands, the commissioner of university and school lands may seize and take, or cause to be seized and taken, without legal process, any timber, grass, wood, or other property unlawfully severed from the lands,…

The state's attorneys of the several counties shall report promptly to the commissioner all cases of trespass committed upon lands controlled by the board of university and school lands which may come to their knowledge. When directed by the attorney general, the state's attorney…

All damages recovered for trespass or other injury upon or to any of the lands mentioned in this chapter must be paid to the state treasurer for the benefit of the fund to which the same properly belongs.

All boards, departments, and officials of government are authorized and permitted to lease or sell school and public lands traversed or bisected by a highway, road, or railroad, canal, river, or lake as two or more separate parcels, each of which may be leased or sold separately …

The lessee of any lands under the control of the board of university and school lands, within one hundred twenty days after the expiration date or cancellation date of a lease may remove any nonpermanent improvements placed upon the lands by the lessee if the removal can be accom…

In all sales of nongrant land under control of the board of university and school lands, the same reservations and exceptions to the state of North Dakota must be made as in the sales of grant land. Any such sale which does not contain such reservations and exceptions must be con…

An individual who violates any provision of this chapter, for which another penalty is not specifically provided for a substantially similar offense, is guilty of a noncriminal offense for which a fee of one hundred dollars must be assessed.

The state of North Dakota or any person, firm, limited liability company, or public or private corporation, desiring to acquire any school or institution lands of the state for: 1. Townsite purposes; 2. Schoolhouse sites; 3. Church sites; 4. Cemetery sites; 5. Sites for other edu…

Unless the land described in an application made under the provisions of this chapter has been appraised within two years prior to the filing of the application, the board of university and school lands shall have the same appraised in accordance with the provisions of this title…

The board of university and school lands shall cause public notice to be given of the time when and place where it will hear an application made under this chapter. Such notice must describe the land involved and must state the purpose for which it is sought to purchase the same.…

The board of university and school lands may sell the property described in the application to the applicant at a price not less than the appraised value if the board concludes that the land described in the application is required for the purposes stated in such application and …

If the applicant is unwilling to pay the price for a conveyance fixed by the board of university and school lands, the applicant may maintain an action in the district court against the state to condemn the land under chapter 32-15. The amount awarded by the court or jury as dama…

The state board of higher education shall have the control and administration of the following state educational institutions: 1. The state university and the school of mines at Grand Forks, with their substations. 2. The North Dakota state university of agriculture and applied s…

The institutions of higher education under the control of the state board of higher education are a unified system of higher education, as established by the board, and are designated as the North Dakota university system.

1. The state board of higher education consists of eight members, all of whom must be appointed by the governor in accordance with section 6 of article VIII of the Constitution of North Dakota. 2. The council of college faculties shall annually appoint one individual to serve as …

Before entering upon the duties of their offices, the members appointed to the state board of higher education shall take and subscribe the oath required of civil officers. A majority of the members appointed to the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

Each member of the state board of higher education, except the student member, is entitled to receive as compensation one hundred forty-eight dollars per day for each calendar day actually spent devoted to the duties of office, and necessary expenses in the same manner and amount…

The state board of higher education shall elect one of its members annually to serve as president of the board for a term of one year. It shall elect a competent person as secretary, who shall hold office at the will of the board and shall reside, during the secretary's term of o…

The state board of higher education, as soon as practicable, shall appoint, for a term of not to exceed three years, a state commissioner of higher education whose principal office must be at the state capitol. The commissioner of higher education is responsible to the board and …

The state board of higher education may enter into a personnel contract with the state commissioner of higher education. The personnel contract may provide for the commissioner to become a faculty or staff member at an institution under the control of the state board of higher ed…

The state board of higher education has full authority over the institutions under its control with the right to prescribe, limit, or modify the courses offered at the several institutions. In furtherance of its powers, the board has the power to delegate to its employees details…

The state board of higher education may, subject to the limitations of section 15-10-12.1, receive donations, gifts, grants, and bequests offered or tendered to or for the benefit of any institution of higher education under its control or subject to its administration, and all m…

The state board of higher education may authorize campus improvements and building maintenance on land under the control of the board which are financed by donations, gifts, grants, and bequests if the cost of the improvement or building maintenance is not more than seven hundred…

All income earned on college and university funds not deposited in the state treasury must be retained by those funds.

If any institution under the control of the state board of higher education undertakes a capital construction project, including any renovation or expansion, with the approval of the legislative assembly, all local funds to be used for the project must be derived from sources tha…