Senate approves emergency waiver allowing Ashtabula seniors to graduate after Lakeside High School roof collapse

The Ohio Senate on April 1 passed House Bill 43 as an emergency measure to waive required minimum instructional hours for the Ashtabula City School District’s graduating seniors after Lakeside High School became unusable.

Senator O’Brien introduced the bill on the floor and asked the chamber to approve the emergency clause. O’Brien described the immediate cause — more than five feet of wet, heavy snow in northern Ashtabula County over a Thanksgiving weekend that led to a level 3 snow emergency and roof collapse at Lakeside High School — and said the district lost three days of instruction despite recovery efforts by staff and students.

"The roof of Lakeside High School totally collapsed," Senator O’Brien said, recounting the emergency that disrupted instruction and jeopardized the district’s ability to meet state instructional hour requirements. He told colleagues the bill would allow the class to graduate on time and preserve state funding eligibility for the district.

The Senate voted to retain the bill’s emergency clause and then passed the bill by roll call: 32 yeas, 0 nays. The bill’s emergency designation makes the law effective immediately upon the governor’s signature. The bill’s text as described on the Senate floor waives the required minimum instructional hours for the affected students and includes language declaring an emergency; the full statutory text and fiscal implications were not read on the floor during recorded remarks.

Sponsor O’Brien thanked members and the Senate Education Committee for expedited handling. The transcript records the sponsor’s account of the collapse and the district’s response; no floor amendments or substantive opposition were recorded in the session.

Vote: HB 43 (emergency) — passed, roll call 32-0.