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    Challenging Dangerous Gun Laws

    Ohio Parents Challenge Board of Education’s Decision to Arm School Employees with Minimal Training

    Gabbard et al. v. Madison Local School District Board of Education, et al.

    3.25.2019

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      Summary

      Everytown Law represents a group of parents in a lawsuit challenging a decision of the Madison Local School District Board of Education, in Butler County, Ohio, to arm school employees with minimal training.

      Key Points

      1. Plaintiffs are five concerned parents with a collective 12 children in Madison schools; they filed suit in September 2018 after the Board declined to provide information about its armed staff policy and its plan to manage risks associated with arming staff.

      2. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin the district’s armed staff policy as a violation of Ohio Revised Code section 109.79(D), which forbids public schools from employing someone “as a special police officer, security guard, or other position in which such person goes armed while on duty” unless they complete an approved basic peace officer training program or have 20 years’ experience as a peace officer.

      3. The lawsuit also seeks to compel disclosure of public records relating to Madison’s armed staff program, including its policies for evaluating and training armed staff, the rules governing their possession and use of firearms while on school property, and the standards for determining when to revoke their authorization to go armed at school.

      After the plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction, the court consolidated this motion with a trial on the merits and ordered the parties to expedite discovery. Lawyers from Everytown Law deposed eight witnesses from the district, including the Superintendent, the Board President, other Board members, and armed staff. Among other things, discovery confirmed the plaintiffs’ fear that Madison’s armed staff receive only a single long weekend of training, rather than the professional course administered to the state’s peace officers. It also exposed several critical deficiencies in Madison’s armed staff program, including that the district has no written rules of engagement for armed staff and that the Board did not follow the protocol that it communicated to the school community.

      Following discovery, the parties cross-moved for summary judgment, and the defendants moved for a protective order to prevent public disclosure of certain documents and testimony obtained during discovery. The Butler County Court of Common Pleas rejected the defendants’ request to seal the district’s firearms authorization policy and related evidence, but ruled that the psychological evaluations of the armed staff must be sealed. After a hearing, the court on February 28, 2019, granted summary judgment to defendants, ruling that Ohio law only requires eight hours of concealed carry training for staff who carry concealed guns in school. On March 26, 2019, Plaintiffs appealed that ruling to Ohio’s 12th District Court of Appeals, along with the ruling sealing the psychological evaluations from public access.

      On March 30, 2020, Ohio’s 12th District Court of Appeals ordered the Madison Local School District to halt the program allowing teachers to carry hidden, loaded weapons in classrooms with minimal training.

      The Appeals Court found that the relevant state law is “plain and unambiguous” and that school districts cannot employ staff who “go armed while on duty” unless they have completed an approved basic peace officer training program or have 20 years of active duty as a peace officer. The Madison Local School District’s 24-hour training requirement for armed staff fell well short of the rigorous training required under state law (which typically spans over 700 hundred hours), the Appeals Court held, and directed that a permanent injunction must be issued halting the program.

      The Madison Local School District appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court in May 2020, which accepted jurisdiction on August 4, 2020. On June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court decision, holding that Madison’s policy violated Ohio law.

      Case Documents

      September 12, 2018 – ComplaintDownload
      January 12, 2019 – Deposition of John Doe 1, armed staff memberDownload
      January 12, 2019 – Deposition of John Doe 2, armed staff memberDownload
      January 12, 2019 – Deposition of John Doe 3, armed staff memberDownload
      February 1, 2019 – Plaintiffs’ Summary Judgment Ex. V – Color Version Download
      February 1, 2019 – Plaintiffs Summary Judgment ExhibitsDownload
      February 11, 2019 – Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Summary Judgment ExhibitsDownload
      February 22, 2019 – Protective OrderDownload
      February 25, 2019 – Hearing TranscriptDownload
      February 28, 2019 – Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary JudgmentDownload
      February 28, 2019 – Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Cross-Motion for Summary JudgmentDownload
      February 28, 2019 – Summary Judgment OrderDownload
      March 7, 2019 – Deposition of Carl David French, Board PresidentDownload
      March 7, 2019 – Deposition of Deputy Kent Hall, School Resource OfficerDownload
      March 7, 2019 – Deposition of Pete Robinson, Board MemberDownload
      March 7, 2019 – Deposition of Dr. Lisa Tuttle-Huff, SuperintendentDownload
      March 7, 2019 – Deposition of Dr. Paul Jennewine, Board MemberDownload
      June 14, 2019 – Brief of Erin Gabbard et al.Download
      June 14, 2019 – Brief for Professor Peter M. Shane as Amicus CuriaeDownload
      June 14, 2019 – Amici Curiae Brief of Experts in School Safety & Firearms TrainingDownload
      July 11, 2019 – Brief of the Attorney GeneralDownload
      July 12, 2019 – Brief of AppelleesDownload
      July 12, 2019 – Brief of Buckeye Firearms Foundation, Inc.Download
      July 22, 2019 – Appellants’ Redacted Reply BriefDownload
      March 30, 2020 – OpinionDownload
      May 14, 2020 – Amicus Brief in Support of Jurisdiction by Various School DistrictsDownload
      May 14, 2020 – Amicus Brief in Support of Jurisdiction by Ohio Attorney GeneralDownload
      May 14, 2020 – Jurisdictional Memo of Madison Local School DistrictDownload
      June 12, 2020 – Plaintiffs’/Appellees’ brief in opposition to jurisdictionDownload
      September 9, 2020 – Merits Brief by Amicus Curiae Ohio Attorney General (Ohio Supreme Court) Download
      Sept. 15, 2020 – Merits Brief by Amici Curiae Various School Districts (Ohio Supreme Court)Download
      Sept. 15, 2020 – Merits Brief by Appellant Madison Local School District (Ohio Supreme Court)Download
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Brief of Amici Curiae Ohio Education Association and Ohio Federation of Teachers in Support of AppelleesDownload
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Brief of Amicus Curiae Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, Inc. in Support of AppelleesDownload
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Peter M. Shane in Support of AppelleesDownload
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Brief of Amici Curiae Experts in School Safety and Firearms Training in Support of Appellees Download
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Brief of Amicus Curiae Teacher Educators and Educational Researchers in Support of AppelleesDownload
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Merit Brief of Plaintiffs-AppelleesDownload
      Oct. 5, 2020 – Supplement of Plaintiffs-AppelleesDownload
      Oct. 6, 2020 – Brief of amici curiae City of Columbus and City of Cincinnati in support of appelleesDownload
      Oct. 6, 2020 – Brief of amicus curiae K-12 Teachers and Staff in support of appelleesDownload
      June 23, 2021 – OpinionDownload

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      Did you know?

      30 percent of guns recovered by ATF in California have no serial number on them, making it impossible for law enforcement to trace.

      Stephens A. “Ghost Guns Are Everywhere in California”. The Trace. (2019). https://bit.ly/2DKkIlt