COLUMBUS, OH — Following today’s hearing before the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in the Education Takeover lawsuit against Governor DeWine and the State of Ohio, Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward and plaintiffs Dr. Christina Collins and Michelle Newman issued the following statements:

“Make no mistake, the Court already ruled that the DeWine Administration’s takeover of the State Board of Education in Ohio must be halted until it has an opportunity to issue a decision,” said Skye Perryman, President & CEO, Democracy Forward. “If the Governor is suggesting the state will not comply with the Court’s order, then he would be in contempt of the Court. On behalf of our clients, Democracy Forward will continue to defend democracy and public education in Ohio.”

“Governor DeWine said that he plans to violate the court order because parents care about their children’s education. But that’s exactly why I filed this lawsuit to begin with,” said Dr. Christina Collins, an Ohio parent and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “This all stems from the governor’s attempt to take away our elected representation, jeopardize the quality of  my children’s education, and remove local input and control. There’s an easy solution here, and it’s what the court intended with its temporary restraining order— maintain the status quo, which had allowed parents input in their children’s education for years and years.” 

“All that I want is to be able to have real input into my child’s education,” said Michelle Newman, an Ohio parent and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “That’s why I filed the lawsuit to stop this unconstitutional education takeover, and if Governor DeWine really cared about parents and student success, he would support our efforts, not threaten to defy a court order.”

Plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward and Ulmer & Berne LLP.

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