The Ohio Supreme Court has let stand the law that allows the state to take over failing school districts, starting with the Youngstown City Schools in 2015.
By a 5-2 vote, the court disagreed with the Youngstown City Schools, which said the addition of a 67-page amendment on the day of the vote on the 10-page takeover bill was unconstitutional.
State solicitor Ben Flowers argued for the law , conceding lawmakers could have required the usual three readings on the bill before a vote.
"But there鈥檚 nothing in the constitution that鈥檚 judicially enforceable that required them to go about doing things in that manner," Flowers said.
, Chief Justice Maureen O鈥機onnor wrote that it鈥檚 not the court鈥檚 role 鈥渢o police how the amended language came into existence鈥�.
Michael Donnelly, one of the two justices who dissented, called it 鈥渁 travesty of justice.鈥�
The law has since been used to take two other districts, and ten others are at risk of state takeover.
Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
