Yost Calls on Supreme Court to Act Immediately in Columbus School District’s Busing Crisis

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Ohio Attorney Dave Yost today filed an emergency motion in the Ohio Supreme Court, urging the court to grant immediate relief relating to the ongoing transportation crisis affecting charter and private school students in Columbus.

The filing is the latest development in a lawsuit Yost filed earlier this month seeking to compel Columbus City Schools to resume legally mandated transportation services for these students, following the district's refusal to comply with its legal obligations.

"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."

Today's emergency motion addresses one specific violation that needs immediate resolution. Specifically, the district continues to refuse to transport students even after their families request mediation to challenge the district's initial decision not to provide transportation.

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.

Columbus City Schools is required by law to provide transportation to eligible private and charter school students who live within district boundaries. However, the district deemed a large number of these students "impractical" to transport at the start of this school year. Affected families were given little notice and many were left without a safe, reliable way to get their children to school.

AG Yost initially sent a cease-and-desist letter to the district on Sept. 3, warning that noncompliance would result in legal action. The district did not resume transportation, so the state sued two days later.

Yost's action today conveys the urgent nature of this matter to the Ohio Supreme Court. The filing requests an immediate order that Columbus School District provide transportation to any student who has requested mediation or requests mediation while the lawsuit is ongoing, at least until each student's challenge is resolved. The emergency order would remain in effect until the court has the opportunity to make a final decision on all claims in the lawsuit.

Yost said the 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 matter in the normal course.