Princeton City School District v. Ohio State Board of EducationPrinceton City School District v. Ohio State Board of Education
Lead Opinion
In 1989, tbe Ohio General Assembly created the Educational Management Information System (“EMIS”).
In the action below, the court invalidated the portion of the statute that required school officials to collect staff social security numbers. Pursuant to
In this appeal, appellants challenge the trial court’s judgment in two assignments of error. In the first assignment, they argue that
FIRST ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: DELEGATION
Our analysis of appellants’ delegation argument begins with the fundamental proposition that the legislative power of this state is vested in the General Assembly. Section 1, Article II, Ohio Constitution. The Ohio General Assembly has a “plenary grant of power” to pass аny statute that does not conflict with the state or federal constitutions.
State ex rel. Jackman v. Court of Common Pleas
(1967),
Delegation of rulemaking authority is a necessary response to thе increasing complexity of modern government.
In re Adoption of Uniform Rules and Regulations Relating to Valuation of Real Property
(1959),
As a general matter, the rulemaking functions of the Department of Education, which includes the state board, are subject to R.C. Chapter 119.
Thе trial court was persuaded that the legislature intended for the “guidelines” to be exempt from R.C. Chapter 119. Therefore, the court reasoned, the statute, rule, and guidelines were valid.
4
Even though we agree with the decision of the trial court, we come to our conclusion for a different reason. For the purposes of the APA, the legislature has defined the term “rule,” but not the term “guideline.”
The guidelines, on the other hand, are а kind of instruction manual showing methods and alternatives to identify, compile, collect and report the data.
Furthermore, as with any constitutional question, the court presumes that the statute is valid and it is incumbent on the challengers to demonstrate its impropriety.
State ex rel. Dickman v. Defenbacher
(1955),
Finаlly, the Ohio Supreme Court has treated the grant of rulemaking authority to boards of education broadly.
OAPSE,
For these reasons, we overrule the first assignment of error.
SECOND ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: PREEMPTION
In their second assignment of error, appellants contend that the trial court erred when it found that if the state board violated the privacy provisions of
A federal statute may preempt a state law when Congress has expressly stated its intent to preempt or when Congress has so pervasively occupied thе field of regulation that it has left no room for state law.
5
Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Dev. Comm.
(1983),
Under the preemption doctrine, one manner in which a state law may actually conflict with a federal statute is if it frustrates the purpose of the federal legislation.
Hines v. Davidowitz
(1941),
Contrary to appellants’ argument, they have the burden of showing that EMIS unconstitutionally conflicts with FEPRA. See, generally,
State ex rel. Dickman
at paragraph one of the syllabus;
Beatty,
The second method by which a state provision may conflict with a federal law is if it is impossible to comply with both statutes. See, generally,
Florida Lime,
Because EMIS nеither frustrates the purpose of FEPRA nor makes it impossible to comply with the federal legislation, the two statutes do not conflict. Accordingly, FEPRA does not preempt EMIS, and the second assignment of error is overruled.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
. Appellants also specifically challenged Section 5 of H.B. No. 437, the bill that established the present version of EMIS. To the extent that we refer to this portion of the assignment оf error, we confine ourselves to the version that exists as uncodified law at 144 Ohio Laws 5514-5515.
. Under
. For examples of proper delegation see, generally,
State v. Gill
(1992),
. The court’s determination on social security numbers is not a subject of this appeal.
The trial court also rejected an alternate ground advanced by appellees that would have upheld the constitutionality of EMIS. Section 26, Article II of the Ohio Constitution states that:
“nor, shall any act, except such as relates to the public schоols, be passed to take effect upon the approval of any other authority than the General Assembly, except as provided in this constitution.”
Appellees contended that this constitutional exemption allowed the state board to pass laws that “take effect” without the imprimatur of the General Assembly.
We also do not accept this rationale because, in recent years, this constitutionаl exemption has been used only for the process of annexing school boundaries to school districts.
State ex rel. Harrell v. Bd. of Edn.
(1989),
. Appellants, correctly, do not raise either of these preemption arguments in their briefs.
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
I fully agree with my colleagues in the majority that the first assignmеnt of error is not well taken, but, in my view, there is no need to articulate an alternative ground to justify the trial court’s decision. I agree with the trial court that the resolution of this case is compelled by legislative intent. I believe that what are denominated as “guidelines” in
As an initial matter, guidelines are the functional equivalent of rules if they have a general, uniform operation and have the force and effect of law.
Doyle,
“The primary purpose of the judiciary in the interpretation or construction of statutes is to give effect to the intention of the General Assembly, as gathered from the provisions enacted, by the application of well-settled rules of interpretation, the ultimate function being tо ascertain the legislative will.”
In an earlier version of EMIS, the legislature denominated these same guidelines as rules. 143 Ohio Laws 735-736. In a lawsuit involving these same parties, the trial court found the rules to be void because they were promulgated out of the APA rulemaking process. 1 To correct the problems found in the previous lawsuit, the legislature passed the present version of the statute, which was signed by the Governor on April 30, 1992.
In the second version of EMIS, the legislature clearly expressed its intent to exempt the guidelines from the rulemaking process. First, in Am.Sub.H.B. No. 437, Section 5, 144 Ohio Laws, Part IV, 5514-5515, the General Assembly stated that it intended for the state Department of Education to adopt the “guidelines pursuant to rules without the necessity of subjecting the guidelines to the rule-making procedures” of the APA. Next, the legislature changed the statutory definition of “rule” to read: “ ‘Rule’ does not include * * * guideline adopted pursuant to 3301.0714 of the Revised Code.”
Not only did the legislature properly grant rulemaking authority before it created the APA, but since that time, it has exempted whole agencies from the requirements of R.C. Chapter 119. In these post-APA exemptions, the Ohio Supreme Court also found the agency’s rules to be valid when the legislature had granted rulemaking authority in the agency’s enabling statute, but exempted the agency from the APA. For example, municipal civil service commissions are granted rulemaking authority in
“The authority and the duty of the board to adopt regulations under this section shall not be governed by or be subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.”
Therefore, “the Board’s rulemaking authority is not subject to R.C. Chapter 119.” 1979 Ohio Atty.Gen.Ops. No. 79-088. 3
Finally, the legislature expressly has stated that:
“Unless otherwise specifically provided by law,
the failure of any agency to comply with the [APA] procedure shall invalidate any rule or amendment adopted * * (Emphasis added.)
Just as in these other post-APA examples, when the legislature сreated EMIS in
For these reasons, I concur with the majority’s conclusion that the first assignment of error is not well taken.
. Princeton v. State Bd. of Edn. (Jan. 9, 1992), Hamilton C.P. No. A-9106568, unreported. Other parts of the earlier statute that are irrelevant to this dispute were also invalidated.
. The legislature has also created a process by which the legislature can invalidate rules passed by an agency. After the agency passes a rule, it files a .draft with the Secretary of State and Joint Committee on Agency Rule Reviеw.
. Once it has created a rule, the EBR, unlike the state board in EMIS, is required to comply with