An Ohio school district facing a lawsuit over its refusal to provide transportation to more than 1,000 students who attend non-public schools insists it’s not breaking the law, though a legal complaint says otherwise.
On Tuesday, the American Center for Law and Justice filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court, seeking an order requiring the Columbus City School District in Ohio to resume the provision of transportation for private and charter school students living within its boundaries.
While the school district is required to provide transportation for non-public school students, it can decline to do so only in cases where the transportation is deemed “impractical” for a variety of reasons.
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“Students may only be determined ineligible for transportation in certain circumstances and if the School Board complies with the prescribed process, such as properly determining whether the transportation would require more than thirty minutes of direct travel time as measured by travel between the traditional public school to which the student would have been assigned and the private or community school the student has chosen to attend,” the lawsuit states.
As explained in the legal document, the school district issued a “resolution declaring the impracticality of transportation” to 1,380 students who attend private or charter schools ahead of the 2024-25 school year.
In many cases, the resolutions were issued within two weeks of the start of the new school year. This violates Ohio state law, which states that such resolutions must be issued no later than 30 calendar days before the first day of school.
Ohio state law also requires school districts to “offer to provide payment in lieu of transportation” and give parents the option to engage in “mediation,” contesting a decision to exclude them from transportation. Marissa Siebold, named as a relator in the lawsuit, received a “notice of the determination made concerning her child” one day after the school year had already begun. While the notice contained an “offer,” it did not specify an exact amount.
Siebold requested mediation but had not heard back from the school district at the time of the lawsuit’s filing. State law requires the school district to provide interim transportation for students whose parents seek to contest the decision about their child’s transportation, but the complaint maintains that the Columbus City School District has failed to offer that option to Siebold.
The complaint highlights the negative repercussions Siebold has faced as a result of the school district not providing her child with transportation to Tree of Life Christian Schools Middle School.
“She has been forced to take time off work to provide the transportation to school in the morning and home from school in the afternoon, reducing her income and jeopardizing her employment status,” the lawsuit explains.
“In particular, she has had to reduce her regular work hours from approximately 55 to 45 hours a week as a result of the increased time having to be spent driving her children to and from school,” the petition declares. “Relator is paid an hourly wage; accordingly, this lost work time imposes a direct financial burden on her and significantly reduces her income and her ability to provide for her family.”
The document also cites “wear and tear on her vehicle and gas expenses” as well as “an hour and a half to two hours of lost time driving her children to school” as hardships endured by Siebold.
The lawsuit asks the Ohio Supreme Court to “issue a writ of mandamus compelling the Respondent Columbus City Schools Board of Education to provide transportation to and from private or community schools to Relator’s child and for each student on whose behalf mediation has been requested or will be requested as a result of an Impracticality Resolution, which transportation must begin immediately and continue until the matter has been resolved.”
Columbus City School District defended its decision to halt transportation for the private and charter school students.
In a letter to the office of Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost attached as an exhibit in the complaint, counsel for the school district wrote “CCS believes its actions are consistent with the laws promulgated by the General Assembly and is complying with its legal obligations to transport students.”
“CCS staff is working with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (‘ODEW’) and families daily regarding CCS’s determinations,” the letter added. The school district’s correspondence with Yost, dated Sept. 5, follows news that Yost was considering filing a lawsuit of his own over the transportation of non-public school students.
According to the school district counsel, “R.C. 3327.01, which is commonly known as the 30-minute rule, specifically permits CCS, and all Ohio public school districts, to determine that a student is ineligible for public school transport if ‘such transportation would require more than thirty minutes of direct travel time as measured by school bus from the public school building to which the pupils would be assigned if attending the public school designated by district of residence.’”
“CCS has no legal obligation to transport ineligible students under R.C. 3327.01 or 3327.02, and students deemed ineligible for transportation are not entitled to mediation and/or payment in lieu of transportation. Instead, either CCS or the student’s parent and/or guardian can request an official timing to determine eligibility for CCS transportation. CCS and ODEW have coordinated a time schedule to conduct official timings upon request.”
The school district counsel noted that an “impractical to transport review is conducted” if “an official timing, conducted by ODEW, determines that the afore-mentioned distance is under 30 minutes.” The letter described Yost’s threat to file a lawsuit as an attempt to “usurp and circumvent the authority of the General Assembly.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
