On April 7, 2025, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), sent a notification to traditional public school districts, joint vocational school districts, community schools and educational service centers requesting that they verify compliance with U.S. civil rights laws. Districts were asked to submit signed certification responses by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 18. According to USDOE, failure to comply with this deadline could jeopardize access to federal funding.
The National Education Association (NEA) filed an emergency motion in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire for a temporary restraining order to block the USDOE compliance certification request. On April 10, 2025, the parties to the lawsuit reached an agreement that blocks USDOE from taking any enforcement action based on any certification, lack of certification, or communication with USDOE until at least April 24, 2025. The agreement also prevents USDOE from initiating any enforcement action or investigation based on the Dear Colleague Letter issued on Feb. 14, 2025 until after April 24, 2025.
On April 11, 2025, ODEW sent a notification to districts summarizing the terms of the agreement and again requesting that districts submit their signed certification responses by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 18.
OSBA encourages districts to work with their legal counsel on how best to respond to the certification request and to assess whether their locally-adopted policies and practices align with nondiscrimination laws. There are a number of legal challenges outstanding in this area of the law and legal counsel can help the district make informed decisions based on the current legal landscape.