Ohio Judge Blocks Massive Republican-Led Education Overhaul

Madeline Leesman | September 25, 2023 4:45 PM

A county judge in Ohio temporarily blocked a Republican-led overhaul of the state’s K-12 education system, according to multiple reports.

Reportedly, the order comes days after seven members of the Ohio State Board of Education filed a lawsuit against GOP Gov. Mike DeWine because of the overhaul (via Fox News):

The lawsuit says the overhaul, which would significantly shift oversight and decision-making powers in issues like academic standards and school curriculum away from the board and to the governor, violates the constitution.
Franklin County Judge Karen Held Phipps' order will hold until Oct. 2, when the law creating the overhaul was set to go into effect. A hearing is scheduled that day to decide whether the law will be blocked indefinitely while the case continues through the courts.

In remarks to the Associated Press, Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted called the lawsuit “frivolous” and that the seven school board members are simply transferring the chaos they created within the state board to the new process that’s trying to fix their mistakes and hold the education system more accountable.

“We are pleased that the judge has maintained the status quo of public education in Ohio while the case proceeds,” Maddy Gitomer, a lawyer representing the seven Ohio school board members through Democracy Forward said in a statement to the outlet. “We will remain steadfast in our legal defense of people and communities in Ohio and determined in our effort to declare unconstitutional this brazen power grab by Governor DeWine and the Ohio legislature.”

The Ohio Capital Journal reported that the legislation would “rename the Ohio Department of Education to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. It would create a cabinet-level director position, put the department under the governor’s office and limit the State Board of Education’s power to teacher disciplinary and licensure cases and territory disputes.”

The lawsuit reportedly states: “The bill strips the Board’s democratically elected members of their core and constitutionally intended duties and responsibilities for the oversight and governance of Ohio’s public education system.”