(The Center Square) – Attorney General Dave Yost wants the Ohio Supreme Court to move more quickly to force Columbus Public Schools to restore busing to private school students.
After filing suit against the state’s largest public school district nearly three weeks ago, Yost filed an emergency motion late Wednesday asking the court to grant immediate relief.
“Every day of inaction from Columbus Schools puts parents between a rock and a hard place,” Yost said. “Parents are being forced to quit their jobs, rearrange their lives and scramble for transportation, while the school board fails to meet its legal duties. This cannot wait – we need the court to act now.”
Yost followed through on a threat in early September to sue the district after it eliminated busing for charter- and private-school students, notifying parents about two weeks before school began in August.
State law requires districts to provide transportation to all K-8 students who live more than 2 miles from their school. It also says a school can refuse to transport students if it’s found to be unreasonable or unnecessary or takes more than 30 minutes of direct travel time.
When it is impractical to transport a student, a board may offer payment to parents.
Yost’s new motion deals specifically with families who request mediation to challenge the district’s decision. The attorney general believes the students should receive transportation until the issue is resolved.
Yost said state law is clear that once a student challenges the decision, Columbus City Schools must immediately resume transportation for that student while their challenge is ongoing.
He also said an accelerated timeline is critical because students who have requested mediation and still are not receiving transportation will often lose any chance of attending the schools of their choice if the court waits to decide the case.
In a statement earlier this month, Columbus Superintendent Angela Chapman said the district continues to fight a nationwide bus driver shortage and established the same busing guidelines for private- and charter-school students as it did for public school students who go to a school outside their assigned district.
