COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Schools has received a cease-and-desist letter from Ohio’s Attorney General threatening a lawsuit if they do not resume the transport of charter and private school students.

What You Need To Know

  • Columbus City Schools has received a cease-and-desist letter from Ohio’s Attorney General threatening a lawsuit if they do not resume the transport of charter and private school students

  • A state law requires districts to transport non-public students to schools or provide a stipend if said transportation is not practical

  • The district says they have received the letter and are reviewing it

A state law requires districts to transport non-public students to schools or provide a stipend if said transportation is not practical. Schools across the state spend around half a billion dollars in student transportation each year.

According to a press release from AG Dave Yost, Columbus City Schools “stopped complying with the law just before the 2024-25 academic year started and provided little notice to the parents of the affected schoolchildren.”

Yost said the district is “legally obligated” to transport non-public school students living in in the district as long as it is no further than 30 minutes from the public school they’d have attended.

The district says they have received the letter and are reviewing it.

“We will respond as appropriate,” a spokesperson said via email.

Spectrum News 1 Reporter Samana Sheikh contributed to this article.

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