Fairness in Education

ABLE has joined legal aid partners across the state this week in filing an amicus brief in the “Vouchers Hurt Ohio” case, urging the Tenth District Court of Appeals to uphold the trial court’s ruling that the voucher expansion violates the Ohio Constitution and protect the constitutional promise of quality public education for all students. 

Ohio's students are being shortchanged. The U.S. Department of Education is withholding $185 million in federal funds meant for public schools. These resources are critical for students from low-income, migrant, and English-learning backgrounds. Contact DOE by signing a letter today.

ABLE urges lawmakers to support House Bill 127 to ensure that Ohio's children are afforded the privacy protections they deserve. Read our full story and testimony here.

Ohio’s state budget is being decided now, and it’s critical to speak up for fully funding public schools through the Fair School Funding Plan—a bipartisan, research-based approach that ensures all children, regardless of zip code or need, have access to quality education. The Ohio Senate can still act to move the plan forward, and your voice—by email, phone call, or public comment—can help make that happen.

ABLE provided written testimony before the Ohio House Finance Committee on March 13, 2025, urging for increased funding for public schools, especially for vulnerable students. The proposed budget falls short in meeting the needs of children with disabilities, English learners, and low-income students. Read ABLE's full testimony here.

On December 11, 2024, Renee Murphy, Managing Attorney at ABLE, testified before the Ohio Senate Education Committee in opposition to House Bill 206. The bill, which proposes endlessly extendable student expulsions, threatens to undermine student rights and disproportionately harm vulnerable populations

Survivors escaping domestic violence have many concerns, but they do not need to worry about where their children will go to school or how they will get them there. Federal law protects school stability for children in their situations.

ABLE Parent Advocate, Christina Brown, speaks about our innovative SUCCESS Program at a national conference in Washington, D.C. Brown participates in a panel with other legal experts and social workers titled, "Different Strokes for Different Folks: Maryland and Ohio Do Multidisciplinary Representation Their Way”.

Reintroduced earlier this summer in the Ohio legislature, House Bill 206 proposes to change the rules about expelling students from school, allowing long – potentially unending – deprivations of learning. ABLE has joined other advocacy and civil rights groups opposing HB 206.

In a partnership with Clark County Juvenile Court and Springfield City Schools, ABLE is assisting chronically absent kids and their families through an innovative initiative called the SUCCESS Program.

ABLE has joined several advocacy and legal services organizations to file an amicus brief in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s school voucher program.

ABLE honors the 68th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education by reflecting on the impact the case had on the civil rights movement.