APRIL 2023 NEWSLETTER
Students Need Timely Transfer of School Records
Many students change schools or districts because of their parents’ employment opportunities, housing instability, or changes in family or custody arrangements. Highly mobile students are disproportionately more likely to be poor or black. School records—including course lists, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and other student assessments—are vital for administrators, teachers, and students. When a student changes schools or districts, it is important that these records follow the student in a timely manner.
But, that does not always happen, and the consequences for students can be serious. Teachers and school personnel may not be able to meet students’ needs. Students may spend weeks in an inappropriate classroom setting or without supportive services. In some cases, parents have had to seek help from legal aid attorneys to get records transferred.
Senate Bill 66 seeks to address this issue by requiring public and private schools to transmit a transferred student's record within five school days.
SB 66 is at the top of our list of advocacy priorities. OPLC testified in support, and we are working to educate committee members about the importance of this common sense policy.
Why Are Timely School Records Transfers Important?
A student in northeast Ohio returned to his old school district after being in an alternative placement due to previous behavioral incidents. While in his alternative placement the student had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) along with a corresponding Evaluation Team Report (ETR) that had information regarding his behavioral issues, a behavior goal, and outlined effective de-escalation techniques. While waiting for the records to transfer, the student was suspended six times.
OPLC, Partners Call on Ohio to End Debt-Related Driver’s License Suspensions
Ohio is one of a shrinking number of states across the country that still imposes debt-related driver’s license suspensions. These are suspensions that result from failing to pay fines or fees, as opposed to driving dangerously.
According to the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s 2022 Report, Road to Nowhere: Debt-Related Driver’s License Suspensions in Ohio, approximately 60% of all Ohio driver’s license suspensions are based on a person’s failure to pay money owed to a court, the Ohio BMV, or a private third party. The Road to Nowhere Report also found:
- Ohio drivers face over 3 million debt-related suspensions annually.
- Debt-related suspensions substantially burden Ohio communities with an average outstanding total debt each year of over $920 million.
- Debt-related suspensions occur across Ohio but at a higher rate in urban areas.
- Debt-related suspensions cost residents of Ohio’s highest poverty zip codes an average of $7.9 million each year.
- Debt-related suspensions cost residents of Ohio’s zip codes with the highest percentages of people of color an average of $12 million each year.
These are shocking numbers in a state in which the ability to drive is essential to economic participation. Without a driver’s license most people cannot get to work, access medical care, or buy groceries. These barriers are especially difficult to overcome for rural Ohioans, who live in areas where commutes are longer and there is no public transportation available. Taking away a person’s driver’s license for failure to pay a debt can trap Ohio drivers in a counterproductive scenario in which they cannot afford to pay their debt in order to get their driver’s license back but cannot legally drive to work to earn the money needed to absolve their debt.
The Ohio Poverty Law Center is partnering with the
Fines and Fees Justice Center and the
Free to Drive Campaign to eliminate debt-related driver’s license suspensions and standardize reinstatement fees in Ohio. In recent years more than 20 states have passed reforms to eliminate or significantly reduce debt-related driver’s license suspensions based on fines and fees. Ohio driver’s license suspensions should be reserved for convictions related to dangerous driving, never for non-payment.
