Ohio Charter Schools and Educational Privatization: Undermining the Legacy of the State Constitution\u27s Common School Approach

Part II of this Note briefly discusses the current state of public education in Ohio and outlines the DeRolph litigation and its implications. Part III focuses on the “thorough and efficient” education clause in the Ohio Constitution and analyzes its meaning from an historical perspective. Part IV addresses the theory behind the privatization of education in general, briefly discusses the history of privatization, and introduces different types of educational privatization in Ohio. Part V compares the ideology behind the education clause in the Ohio Constitution with privatization ideology and concludes that the two ideologies are in conflict. Part VI discusses Ohio Congress of Parents & Teachers v. State of Ohio Board of Education, a pending Ohio case challenging the constitutionality of community schools, and evaluates the plaintiffs\u27 claims within the context of the privatization aspects of Ohio\u27s community school laws. After predicting that the Ohio Supreme Court will uphold Ohio\u27s community school laws, the section proposes general revisions to the Ohio charter school laws to bring them within the confines of the Ohio Constitution. Finally, the Note suggests that an outcome in the case that is consistent with the Ohio Constitution could act as a catalyst for a political shift in the guiding educational policy of the General Assembly away from community school legislation grounded in privatization ideology and toward a constitutional community school