DAYTON — Dayton Public Schools (DPS) secured a “temporary win” in its lawsuit against the state regarding its new busing law.
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Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence confirmed on Monday that the district had its request for a temporary restraining order granted.
“After this temporary win, we have chosen to provide RTA bus passes to students for the time being. As a result, students will be receiving previously purchased RTA bus passes. Charter and parochial schools will also receive passes, as long as they adhere to the same requirements that Dayton Public School students do, such as signing an RTA Code of Conduct and wearing a visible student ID badge on the bus, among other things,” Lawrence said in a statement.
News Center 7 verified the Franklin County judge assigned to preside over the civil lawsuit indeed granted the request for a temporary restraining order last week, according to court records.
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Lawrence also said the Board of Education is expected to pass a resolution regarding all expectations for students receiving RTA passes on Tuesday.
News Center 7 sent follow-up questions to the district regarding their statement on the ruling, but has not gotten a response at the time of this report.
As News Center 7 previously reported, part of the state budget made it illegal for DPS to provide RTA bus passes to high school students for transportation.
The district filed a lawsuit last week, calling the law “arbitrary, unreasonable, and discriminatory” and asking a judge to temporarily block the state from enforcing it.
DPS claims they are the only school district in the state that the law could have impacted.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, the district also claims that the state requirement to take charter school students to their buildings on yellow school buses does not leave enough drivers and buses for high schoolers.
The district and the state had their first hearing on the lawsuit last Thursday in Columbus. There, a lawyer for the district told a judge that the law was going to have a negative impact on attendance.
The state, on the other hand, said the district had other options.
“The problem is partly of the school’s own making,” David Axelrod, lawyer for the State of Ohio, said.
In response to the judge’s ruling on granting the temporary restraining order, an RTA spokesperson issued the following statement:
The Greater Dayton RTA has been informed of the court’s decision to grant the temporary restraining order of the provision in the state budget that prevents Dayton Public School District (DPS) from purchasing bus passes for their students. The RTA will comply with the ruling and sell bus passes to DPS upon request. Since the Dayton Public School board previously voted not to purchase RTA bus passes, RTA will do it best to address the influx of passengers expected because of DPS’s sudden change in transportation strategy.
RTA maintains that public transit is not the most effective solution for meeting the daily transportation needs of these students. RTA routes run across the entire county and focus on getting riders to work, medical appointments and other essential trips. The routing, frequency, and timing of public bus routes are not conducive to meeting the unique needs of students and the numerous schools across our service area.
At any given time during the school day, RTA has just over 75 buses on the streets serving the entire county. That is the same number of buses DPS officials indicated they would need to fully serve the needs of Dayton high schools alone. Redeploying those to meet the needs of just one school district would mean we could not provide other services to the rest of Montgomery County.
RTA will continue to work with community leaders, state reps, and DPS to develop a more student focused long-term transportation solution for the 2026-27 school year.
— Greater Dayton RTA Spokesperson
The case is set for its next hearing later this month.
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