At the time of the incident, the district asked Lyons to agree to disciplinary action, even though he said the student was the aggressor. Lyons agreed to training regarding how to handle disruptive students, but said he “would not agree to any disciplinary measures.”
Along with the suspension, Lyons had to attend Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training, attend behavior modification training, consistently demonstrate professional behavior with all students and refrain from intimidation or retaliation, comply with all administrative directives, reframe from disclosing personal student information related to the incident, and comply with board policies and Ohio’s Code of Conduct for educators.
The Tecumseh Education Association (TEA) filed a grievance on behalf of Lyons, who said the Board of Education (employer, board or district) suspended him without just cause, according to case documents. The district denied the grievance and the matter was submitted to arbitration, which is an alternative resolution to a dispute where the case is heard out of court. The arbitration hearing took place on June 28.
During the hearing, the district said the grievance should be denied and that Lyons was properly suspended because in the incident he “physically blocked a student from leaving the classroom, used an improper restraint, and ridiculed the student in front of his classmates,” the case documents stated. The school board conducted a “full and fair” investigation and established just cause for the five day suspension.
The TEA, on behalf of Lyons, said the grievance should be approved and the suspension should be rescinded. TEA said although Lyons has taken CPI training over the years, they didn’t show how to handle student attacks, and he “responded in a way he thought appropriate based on his 26 years of experience,” the documents stated.
In an Aug. 26 ruling, the arbitrator said, “Based on the entire record before the arbitrator, there is no denying that (Lyons) engaged in misconduct and violated at least some of the polices cited by the board. Thus, (the district) proved just cause for discipline.”
The arbitrator determined that there was no just cause for a five-day suspension without pay, and found the appropriate discipline to be a three-day paid suspension along with his record to be adjusted to the reduced discipline, for him to be paid for the five days, and he was not awarded back attorney fees.
Superintendent Paula Crew said the district is limited in discussing the matter due to student privacy laws, but she wanted to iterate what the arbitrator said.
“The arbitrator’s decision regarding the discipline of Mr. Ed Lyons validated the administration and the Board of Education’s unanimous decision that discipline was warranted in response to the actions of Mr. Lyons regarding an incident that occurred with a student,” Crew said. “The arbitrator reduced the discipline for My. Lyons, but nonetheless, the arbitrator supported that discipline was warranted and denied Mr. Lyons’ request for reimbursement of attorney’s fees.”
Attorney Brian Garvine, who represents Lyons, said he client is now “considering legal action.”
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office was called to Tecumseh on Nov. 5 about the incident. The sheriff’s office conducted a criminal investigation, and both Lyons and the student were cleared of any criminal charges and the case was closed following the investigation.
Lyons has worked for Tecumseh Local Schools since 1995 and serves on the Huber Heights council, representing Ward 6.
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