Derezic v. Ohio Department of Education

104 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51629, 2015 WL 1782478
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 20, 2015
DocketCase No. 2:14-cv-51
StatusPublished

This text of 104 F. Supp. 3d 858 (Derezic v. Ohio Department of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Derezic v. Ohio Department of Education, 104 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51629, 2015 WL 1782478 (S.D. Ohio 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE C. SMITH, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Defendant Dr. Richard A. Ross (“Ross”) and Plaintiffs Birks, Coleman, Cuturic, Dautovic, Derezic, Flaisman, Geiger-Dugandzic, Grubach, Hill, Kilroy, Loscei, Mallory, Nosse, Pelima, Pesek, Quirarte, Moquemore, Rossman, and Za-gar (“Plaintiffs”) (Docs. 31, 30). The issues before the Court are fully briefed and ripe for review. For the reasons that follow, Ross’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED and Plaintiffs’ is DENIED.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The underlying facts of this case are not in dispute and were set forth in detail in the Court’s previous Opinion and Order [861]*861Granting Defendant • Ohio Department of Education’s Motion to Dismiss. (See Doc. 23). For ease-of-reference purposes, though, the Court will again present the facts pertinent to the pending motions below.

The Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program

Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program was established by Ohio Revised Code Section 3310.02. See Ohio Rev.Code § 3310.02(A). The program essentially allows students who attend or are assigned to attend “EdChoice eligible” public schools to apply for a “scholarship” which can be used to cover the student’s tuition at an alternate private school of their choosing. (See generally Doc. 15, Ex. S, EdChoice Scholarship Program Manual). The Ohio Department of Education (“ODE”) determines which schools are “EdChoice eligible” by considering a host of factors such as whether the school has a low performance index score or has been on Academic Emergency or Academic Watch in recent years. (See id. at 4; Doc. 15) Ex. 1, Designated Schools List). To receive an EdChoice scholarship, parents of students assigned to Ed-Choice-eligible schools submit an application to the ODE in conformance with the rules and regulations set forth in Ohio Administrative Code § 3301-11-05. The ODE then reviews the submitted applications and sends the applicants written notice of its final decision. See Ohio Admin. Code § 3301-11-07(C). Students already deemed eligible for the program (i.e., students who are seeking a renewal of their previous year’s scholarship as opposed to first-time applicants) are given utmost preference in the awards process and are presumed to qualify for a scholarship again, absent certain intervening circumstances. See Ohio Admin. Code § 3301-11-t07(A)(1); Ohio Admin. Code § 3301-11-04(C).

The ODE has the power to terminate a student’s EdChoice scholarship during the school year for which it was awarded if (1) the student’s scholarship application “contained false information that, had it been correct, would have caused the scholarship recipient to be ineligible for the program” or (2) the student fails to timely enroll in another school after being withdrawn or expelled from the chartered nonpublic school in which the student was first enrolled. See-Ohio Admin. Code § 3301-11-09(A). The ODE is required to notify a student of his or her termination from the program in writing. Ohio Admin. Code § 3301-11-09(D). Denied or terminated applicants may request the ODE to reconsider its decision by filing a written request for reconsideration with the ODE and submitting any documentation or evidence they feel supports their position. See Ohio Admin. Code § 3301-11-14. After reviewing the written submission and additional evidence, the ODE renders its final decision. Id.

The Parties & the Reorganization of the Euclid School District

Defendant Richard Ross is being sued in his official capacity as the ODE’s Superintendent of Public Instruction.1 The Superintendent of Public Instruction is tasked with overseeing and administrating various educational matters and functions, including the Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program. See Ohio Rev.Code § 3301.11.

Plaintiffs are the parents of minor children enrolled at various private schools in [862]*862Euclid, Ohio. Plaintiffs have self-designated themselves into two camps: the “Derezic Plaintiffs” (Derezic, Pesek, Roquemore, Hargrove, Hill, Birks-Chapman, Pelima, Coleman, and Grubach). and the “Nosse Plaintiffs” (Nosse, Quirarte, Locsei, Flais-man, Dugandzic, Cuturic, Kilroy, Zagar, Vuraich, and Dautpvic). ,

The Derezic Plaintiffs all submitted applications for EdChoice scholarships for the 20122013 school year. (Doc. 15, Am. Compl. at ¶ 41). At the time they submitted their applications, their children were assigned to attend an EdChoice-eligible elementary school in Euclid, Ohio. (Id. at ¶ 43; Doc. 15, Ex. A, Eligible School List). The ODE initially approved the Derezic Plaintiffs’ applications and sent a written notice to each informing them that they would be granted an EdChoice scholarship for the 2012-2013 school year. (See Am. Compl. at ¶46; Doc. 15, Ex. I, Award Letter). However, after the scholarships had been approved and accepted, Euclid informed the ODE that the district had been reorganized and that the Derezic Plaintiffs were no longer assigned to attend a school that was EdChoice eligible. (See Doc. 15, Ex. C, E-Mail Correspondence). Upon reviewing this information, the ODE determined Plaintiffs were no longer eligible for the program and notified them that their scholarships had been awarded in error. (See, e.g., Doc. 15, Ex. J, Termination Letter). But, because of the confusion and late notice, the ODE allowed the Derezic Plaintiffs to keep their EdChoice scholarships for the 2012-2013 school year; the Derezic Plaintiffs were expressly informed, though, that because of the reorganization and their consequent ineligibility, the scholarships would not be renewed. (See id.).

The Nosse Plaintiffs all submitted applications for EdChoice scholarships for the 20122013 school year based on a similar belief that their children were assigned to attend one of Euclid’s EdChoice-eligible elementary schools. • (Am. Compl. at ¶ 87). However, unlike the Derezic Plaintiffs, the Nosse children were never technically assigned to an EdChoice-eligible school. (See id. at ¶ 88; Doc. 15, Ex. A, .Eligible Schools List). ■ As- such,- the Nosse Plaintiffs’ applications were denied from the start: each Nosse Plaintiff received a denial letter informing them that the school to which their son or daughter had been assigned. was not an EdChoice-eligible school. (Doc. 15, Ex. P, Denial Letter). But again, in light of the problems caused by Euclid’s confusing redistricting plan, the ODE awarded the Nosse Plaintiffs a one-year non-renewable scholarship for the 2012-2013 school year. (See id.). The letter notifying the Nosse Plaintiffs of their award made it expressly clear that, absent a change in circumstances, they would .not be eligible to receive an Ed-Choice scholarship the following year. (Id.).

Both the Derezic and the Nosse Plaintiffs requested the ODE to reconsider its denial/termination decision pursuant to the reconsideration pi’ocedures outlined in Ohio Administrative Code § 3301-11-14, but were unsuccessful. (See Am. Compl. at ¶¶ 54-55, 93; see also, e.g., Doc. 15, Ex. Q, Reconsid. Req.; Doc. 15, Ex. R, Denial Letter).

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Bluebook (online)
104 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51629, 2015 WL 1782478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/derezic-v-ohio-department-of-education-ohsd-2015.