Opinion ID: 204874
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Related State Court Litigation

Text: This case is one of at least three that have challenged the constitutionality of the OCSA. In May of 2001, various plaintiffs filed two actions in Franklin County state court challenging the OCSA under the Ohio Constitution. [1] The plaintiffs in each action were represented by, among others, David Latanick, an attorney retained by the Ohio Education Association (OEA). In June of 2004, Plaintiffs, also represented by Latanick, among others, filed the present action, challenging the OCSA under the U.S. Constitution. After the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the OCSA under the Ohio Constitution, [2] the state plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the two state actions on December 13, 2006 and March 2, 2007. On March 23, 2007, another group of plaintiffs, also represented by Latanick, filed a third state action attacking the OCSA. According to proposed Intervenors, shortly after filing the third state lawsuit, Hinton v. Ohio State Board of Education, attorneys for the OEA began negotiations with then-Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann in an effort to settle both Hinton and the present federal litigation. Proposed Intervenors claim that in early September of 2007, the OEA agreed to dismiss Hinton, and likely dismiss the present case, if the Attorney General would agree to pursue litigation to close certain underperforming and poorly managed community schools, which the parties defined as community schools that: Are ranked in academic emergency or academic watch on Local Report Cards for two of the last three reported school years and whose Performance Index Scores on the most recent Local Report Cards are less than that of the school districts from which they draw the largest number of students.ORHave been reported by their sponsors to the Ohio Department of Education as being in non-compliance with their academic assessments and accountability plans or their finance plans as set forth in their contracts.ORHave been found by the Auditor of State to have unauditable records in the fiscal year most recently the subject of an audit.ORHave bad findings for recovery issued against them by the Auditor of State in two or more of the three most recently reported fiscal years covered by regular audits.ORHave failed to correct findings issued by the Auditor of State for two or more of the most recent fiscal years covered by regular audits. It appears from the record that proposed Intervenor HOPE Northwest was identified by the parties to the settlement as a school that is ripe for closing under these guidelines. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the Hinton plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their state action on September 14, 2007. That same day, Plaintiffs moved to stay the present federal case to permit settlement negotiations. For his part, Attorney General Dann commenced litigation against community schools that the Attorney General deemed to be failing and, despite public controversy, Dann's successors, then-interim Attorney General Nancy Rogers and then-Attorney General Richard Cordray, continued to support the litigation against underperforming and poorly managed community schools.