Ohio State Board of Education members sue to stop major overhaul of K-12 schools

Anna Staver, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·4 min read
Seven members of the Ohio State Board of Education say lawmakers violated Ohio's constitution when they transferred most of the board's responsibilities to a new director position that would be appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Seven members of the Ohio State Board of Education say lawmakers violated Ohio's constitution when they transferred most of the board's responsibilities to a new director position that would be appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

As Ohio begins transferring control over public education to the governor's office, seven members of the State Board of Education are suing to stop that transition from happening.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday afternoon in Franklin County, seeks a temporary restraining order to stop the changes from going into effect Oct. 2 and for the court to declare this restructuring of the Ohio Department of Education unconstitutional.

"It will strip the constitutionally mandated independent Ohio State Board of Education, the Ohio Department of Education and the State Superintendent of Education of nearly all of their powers ...," according to the complaint. "If unchecked by this Court, the system Ohio’s citizens mandated for governing education in Ohio will be rendered virtually powerless."

And that, in the opinion of the seven petitioners, is unconstitutional.

"The State of Ohio is perfectly legal in doing what we do because the constitution gives us the authority to set the duties of the state school board, and we did that in the state budget," Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, said. "The Ohio General Assembly has 100% of the authority to do that. They are wrong, and they are wasting taxpayer money."

Ohio's new Department of Education and Workforce

For decades, the state board has chosen a state superintendent who works alongside them to guide the development of Ohio's academic standards. They create our state strategic plan (currently called Each Child, Our Future), recommend textbooks and set curriculum standards.

But all those responsibilities were transferred to the governor's office when Ohio passed its budget in June.

Board members were left with duties like deciding whether to revoke teacher licensures or approve territory transfers.

Supporters said the board has been plagued by ideological infighting, and the current way of doing things at ODE wasn't working. Thousands of children still struggle with pandemic learning loss, chronic absenteeism rates remain higher than pre-pandemic, and the board still hasn't replaced the last superintendent who left in September 2021.

"It is irresponsible of them to hold up this process when they have failed to do their jobs," Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. "We have a situation where the state school board has failed for two years to perform their duty of hiring a state superintendent, and now these very people are the ones trying to hold up the process again."

More: Ohio State Board of Education repeals its anti-racism resolution

Board members Christina Collins, Teresa Fedor, Katie Hofmann, Tom Jackson, Meryl Johnson, Antoinette Miranda and Michelle Newman said these changes took away rights from Ohio parents.

They hold public hearings where any Ohioan can raise their concerns about statewide standards or curricula.

“For decades, parents in Ohio have gone to the voting booth to exercise their right to elect representatives empowered to advocate for them at the state level," according to a joint statement issued by the seven plaintiffs. "We will not sit back and let stand such a brazen power-grab that flies in the face of Ohio residents who value local input and control over their children’s education.”

Who makes the rules?

Article IV, Section 4 of Ohio's constitution states that there "shall be a state board of education" and a superintendent of public instruction.

That's not up for debate. All sides agreed that the board can't be disbanded without a constitutional amendment.

Where they disagree is on the following line: "The respective powers and duties of the board and of the superintendent shall be prescribed by law."

The complaint argued that "turning the board into an empty shell" violated Article IV.

"The General Assembly is not permitted to abolish the constitutionally created Board via legislative workaround," according to the complaint. "And what the Ohio Constitution forbids the General Assembly from accomplishing directly, it also forbids the General Assembly from achieving indirectly."

A spokesman for DeWine said the governor's office does not comment on pending litigation, but Brenner and Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said that part of the constitution gives lawmakers the authority to decide what the board does.

"They should know that the GA and the governor set policy, not them," Huffman said. "(It's) another example of folks believing that courts, and not elected representatives of the people, should direct policy."

Board Member Jon Hagan, who is not part of the lawsuit, agreed.

"If you ask me whether I like the changes that they made, not a big fan," Hagan said. "But I do believe that the legislature and the governor have the grounds to do it."

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Board of Education sues to stop transfer of its powers