4-year-old fatally struck by pickup identified

A girl who died after being hit by a pickup truck Sunday on Columbus’ East Side has been identified.

Elaina Kennedy, 4, died at Nationwide Children’s Hospital at 7:55 p.m., a spokesman for the Franklin County Coroner’s Office confirmed Wednesday.

Columbus police said the accident occurred just after 7 p.m. on the 2800 block of East 6th Avenue after a Ford pickup truck had stopped and children exited the vehicle.

Police said that as the vehicle was pulling away, Kennedy ran in front of the pickup truck and was struck.

Police originally incorrectly identified the victim as a 6-year-old child.

An investigation into the incident is continuing by the Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit.

Ohio’s new Department of Education and Workforce

For decades, the state board has chosen a state superintendent who works alongside them to guide the development of Ohio’s academic standards. They create our state strategic plan (currently called Each Child, Our Future), recommend textbooks and set curriculum standards.

But all those responsibilities were transferred to the governor’s office when Ohio passed its budget in June.

Board members were left with duties like deciding whether to revoke teacher licensures or approve territory transfers.

Supporters said the board has been plagued by ideological infighting, and the current way of doing things at ODE wasn’t working.

Thousands of children still struggle with pandemic learning loss, chronic absenteeism rates remain higher than pre-pandemic, and the board still hasn’t replaced the last superintendent who left in September 2021.

“I would ask them what they have done to address those issues,” Brenner said.

But board members Christina Collins, Teresa Fedor, Katie Hofmann, Tom Jackson, Meryl Johnson, Antoinette Miranda and Michelle Newman said in a statement that these changes took away rights from Ohio parents.

The board has public hearings where any Ohioan can raise their concerns about statewide standards or curricula.

“For decades, parents in Ohio have gone to the voting booth to exercise their right to elect representatives empowered to advocate for them at the state level,” according to a joint statement. “We will not sit back and let stand such a brazen power-grab that flies in the face of Ohio residents who value local input and control over their children’s education.”

Who makes the rules?

Article IV, Section 4 of Ohio’s constitution states that there “shall be a state board of education” and a superintendent of public instruction.

That’s not up for debate. All sides agreed that the board can’t be disbanded without a constitutional amendment.

Where they disagree is on the following line: “The respective powers and duties of the board and of the superintendent shall be prescribed by law.”

The complaint argued that “turning the board into an empty shell” violated Article IV.

“The General Assembly is not permitted to abolish the constitutionally created Board via legislative workaround,” according to the complaint. “And what the Ohio Constitution forbids the General Assembly from accomplishing directly, it also forbids the General Assembly from achieving indirectly.”

A spokesman for Dewine said the governor’s office does not comment on pending litigation, but Brenner and Senate President Matt Huffman, R-lima, said that part of the constitution gives lawmakers the authority to decide what the board does.

“They should know that the GA and the governor set policy, not them,” Huffman said. “(It’s) another example of folks believing that courts, and not elected representatives of the people, should direct policy.”

Board Member Jon Hagan, who is not part of the lawsuit, agreed.

“If you ask me whether I like the changes that they made, not a big fan,” Hagan said. “But I do believe that the legislature and the governor have the grounds to do it.”