LRS files amended complaint in Doe v. State of Ohio lawsuit

The Ohio Legal Rights Service (LRS) filed an amended complaint in the Doe v. State of Ohio class action education lawsuit. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, addresses inadequate funding for Ohio's special education programs and unlawful discrimination against students with disabilities.

Specifically targeted in the complaint is Ohio's evidence based model (EBM) for funding special education services that fails to ensure sufficient revenue to school districts to provide students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), including all necessary related services. The complaint also identifies other major shortcomings of Ohio's funding system which:

• provides insufficient funds for preschool special education units;
• promotes an inadequate student to teacher ratio of 20:1 and a teacher to aide ratio of 2:1, both ratios conflict with state standards;
• caps funds for home instruction and catastrophic costs that leaves some students without services and school districts failing to be in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA);
• creates a funding formula that does not factor in the costs of modifications to facilities serving children with disabilities; and
• discriminates against children with disabilities by unnecessarily segregating them from regular classrooms.

Sue Tobin, LRS lead attorney, said, "This case is for all those children in Ohio who are denied special education services because of a lack of funds. Two named plaintiffs in the case are students who are eligible for but are not receiving any educational services because of inadequate funding." Tobin further stated that the Doe case also seeks federal court enforcement of the Ohio Supreme Court's decisions in the general education funding case of DeRolph, which have never been implemented.

In July 2008, Federal Judge John D. Holschuh gave his preliminary approval of a consent order in the Doe v. State of Ohio lawsuit. That settlement brought Ohio into line with federal regulations regarding the Ohio Department of Education's monitoring of school district special education programs and investigation of complaints filed by parents or students. The consent order included a number of procedural safeguards resulting in transparent processes, increased notices to parents and more timely complaint decisions.

In Doe v. State of Ohio, LRS represents nine students with disabilities, their parents, and a plaintiff class of over 265,000 Ohio students with disabilities. LRS brought the case to ensure that state officials meet their obligations to ensure that children with disabilities receive a FAPE under the IDEA. Plaintiffs seek relief under IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the U.S. Constitution.

If you would like more information, contact Thomas Hemmert at 614-466-7264 or themmert@olrs.state.oh.us.

For more information about the case: Doe v. State of Ohio