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A law created to prevent accidental deaths in Ohio schools named after a Lebanon boy will officially be repealed next month.
Jarod’s Law, named after 6-year-old Jarod Bennet who was killed by a falling cafeteria table in 2003, “was well intended, it was to protect children,” said state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton. “What happened, which sometimes happens, is the unintended consequences of this law.”
Combs said he believes a new Jarod’s Law will be introduced that “will be more specific on the intent, that it will protect children from falling tables or anything that could be of harm or crush a child.
“We must protect those most vulnerable and young kids are vulnerable at that age.”
But even though state legislators canceled the law when they passed House Bill 1, the state department of health will recommend the guidelines created by the law continue to be used in the twice annual inspections that will now be required, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.
Jarod’s Law for the last year and a half required local health departments inspect all public schools for everything from properly securing and storing tables to ensuring the crest of water from a drinking fountain is at least one inch above the mouth guard.
“In general, there was a lot of good things about Jarod’s Law,” said Ed Dulle of Madison Local Schools. “It brought a lot of awareness. It’s caused us to be more formal and put it in writing so that nothing gets skipped.”
Some objectors to Jarod’s Law said it was too difficult for schools to comply with all the demands and costs to comply were too high in staff hours.
Lengthy reports were submitted to the state auditor’s office, who could submit a citation letter to the school, but could not issue a fine to schools that did not correct violations.
Although the state health department is recommending local inspectors continue to use Jarod’s Law guidelines – which they are trained in – there is no way for the state to require that. Weiss said some local departments are creating their own guidelines.
Without the backing of a law, local health departments will rely on their own authority to enforce their findings, Weiss said.
But no matter what the inspections, local schools and health authorities say they are committed to student safety.
“We remain committed to working closely with our local partners to ensure schools are as safe as possible for children,” Weiss said.
Distrcts remain committed to safety despite repeal of Jarod’s Law
Local schools and health authorities say they are committed to student safety, even as they wait for state guidance after legislators repealed a law aimed at preventing accidental deaths among children.
Jarod’s Law – named for 6-year-old Jarod Bennet who was killed in 2003 when a cafeteria table fell on his head – was repealed in House Bill 1 and replaced by only a requirement that schools are inspected twice annually.
The Ohio Department of Health will recommend local health departments continue to use the guidelines created by Jarod’s Law for inspections, but cannot mandate those be used.
“We’re kind of in limbo at this time,” said Jeff Agnew of the Butler County Health Department.
Agnew said he is waiting for the Ohio Department of Health to release new guidelines in October before any major changes are made, but he anticipates it will at least mean less paperwork.
Although he said Jarod’s Law was well-intended, state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, said “it just got totally out of hand.”
For instance, teachers couldn’t have hand-sanitizer at their desks because it was considered toxic and children could get to it, Combs said. Also, he said brand-new schools that had carpeting in the hallways had to take it out because it could be a hazard.
Butler County Health Director Patricia Burg said it isn’t clear whether repealing the law will save money, because it will be going back to twice yearly inspections instead of one.
Since the law wasn’t in place very long, Burg said the county did not have a chance to follow up for the 15-month visits to see if there was compliance. However, she said one problem was that some of the identified problem areas included expensive changes, such as redoing entire playgrounds.
“I think some of the issues would have been very difficult and costly for the schools to comply with,” she said.
“It’s really hard to measure the time and money spent complying with the law, because we would have been doing many of those things anyway, with or without the law,” said Fairfield City Schools spokesman Randy Oppenheimer. “And we’ll continue to do them, so there really aren’t any cost-savings from the law not being in effect.”
Some expenses to local schools resulted from big-ticket items such as new bleachers for gymnasiums. Others, were minor changes, such as adding locks to storage cabinets.
In Middletown City Schools, the inspections meant counseling staff on properly storing chemicals and requiring many buildings to develop a comprehensive safety plan. Areas to address also included obtaining a current list of dangerous or recalled products or posting signs to identify walkways for pedestrians.
In the Hamilton City School District, those changes included attaching free-standing bookshelves to the wall to make them more stable and attaching TV sets to their mobile carts, said Jim Boerke, district director of planning, operations, construction management.
And even though the law has been repealed, Boerke said “there are safety suggestions we learned through the process that we will continue to apply in our buildings.”
No matter what the cost in actual dollars and time of personnel spent on the mandate, area district officials conclude the law wasn’t a waste of time.
Rather, school officials say they are now looking to continue to focus on student safety as they await new inspection rules, which have yet to be established by the state health department.
“We always work with agencies to make our facilities and grounds as safe as possible,” Monroe Local Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli stated in an e-mail, adding that it is the district’s responsibility to provide a safe environment for everyone.
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