What Ohio must change so this never happens to another child
Ohio law already counts a child-care center's records as records a parent who is not the residential parent can see, on the same terms as the other parent. When I asked Young Explorers for my Younger Son's records on August 22, 2023, nobody had to answer me by any date, and nobody did. The only remedy the law gives me is to go back to court and ask for contempt.
What the law says now
- R.C. 3109.051(H): records. A parent who is not the residential parent "is entitled to access, under the same terms and conditions under which access is provided to the residential parent, to any record that is related to the child," unless the court finds that would not be in the child's best interest. A keeper of a record who "knowingly fails to comply" is in contempt of court.
- R.C. 3109.051(O)(5)(b): child care counts. "Record" includes "[r]ecords maintained by facilities that provide child care, as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code."
- R.C. 5104.039 and R.C. 3109.051(I): the center itself. Unless a court orders otherwise, a parent who is not the residential parent gets the same access to the child-care center as the residential parent.
Changes needed
- A deadline to answer. A child-care center must answer a parent's written records request in writing within 30 days, and say what it is sending and what it is not.
- Keep the logs. Centers must keep sign-in and sign-out logs, daily reports and parent messages for a set number of years after a child leaves, and give them to either parent or the guardian ad litem on request.
- "Too long ago" is not an answer. If the records exist, the center hands them over. Who dropped a child off is in the center's own logs, not in anyone's memory.
- Guardians ad litem must contact the child's caregivers. When who raised a child is in dispute, the GAL must contact the child's preschool and child-care teachers and write down what they say.
- Enforcement a parent can use. A parent should be able to file a records complaint with the state child-care licensing office and get an answer, without paying a lawyer to bring a contempt motion.
What Senate Bill 174 should add
Senate Bill 174 of the 136th General Assembly passed the Senate on November 12, 2025, and is in the House Judiciary Committee. It is not law yet. According to the Legislative Service Commission analysis, it "recodifies but mostly maintains current law regarding access to a child's records and student activities." It should add a deadline for answering a parent's records request and a duty to keep child-care sign-in and sign-out records.
From February 2020 to May 2021, my Younger Son went to Young Explorers Montessori in Twinsburg three days a week. I toured it, enrolled him, signed the tuition payment form, and split the tuition with my mother. The school sent its daily reports, bills and notices to me. Two years later, when a court was deciding who had raised my sons, the school would not say what its own records showed, and it never gave me the records I asked for.
What happened
Young Explorers is the school that knew who my Younger Son's parent was. Between February 10, 2020 and August 31, 2021 it and its Preschool2me app sent me 273 emails, including 73 daily activity reports. Every one came to me; three billing emails also went to my mother. None went to my ex-husband. On November 2, 2020 I signed the Tuition Express payment form. On May 20, 2022 my ex-husband swore, "I was the stay-at-home mom. I took care of the children" (hearing 5/20/22, 138:19–24). On November 9, 2022 I asked my attorney Kimberly Valenti to subpoena my Younger Son's Young Explorers teachers. No one did. In August 2023 I asked the school for information. On August 18, 2023 it wrote that "we are unable to speak confidently on the pick-up and drop-off procedures." The same day I asked the guardian ad litem, James Phillips, to contact the teachers; I found no record that he did. On August 22, 2023 I asked the school in writing for all of my son's records. The school did not give them to me, and it would not.
Running totals of what my case cost are on the costs and time page. The Young Explorers tuition was paid before the case began, so it is not counted there.
Who they are
Young Explorers Montessori of Twinsburg is a licensed private preschool and child-care center in Twinsburg, Ohio. Sara Lewandowski signed her emails as "Assistant Director" on March 9, 2020 and as "School Coordinator" on August 18, 2023, and she handled our billing in 2020 and 2021. Corynne Bailey was announced as the new director on August 6, 2020. My Younger Son's teachers were Amanda Seely and Taylor Chism; their names are on his daily report of March 24, 2021: "Classroom Pioneers - Silly Village Teacher(s) Amanda Seely, Taylor Chism." Parent newsletters in 2021 were signed "Rita Scott, Pres."
February 2020 to May 2021: the school dealt with me
I toured Young Explorers on February 12, 2020. The tour confirmation, dated February 10, opened "Hi Carey, Thank you, again, for your interest in Young Explorers Montessori!" On February 17 the registration confirmation came to me: "Thank you so much for choosing Young Explorers Montessori - Twinsburg!" My Younger Son started on February 24, 2020. He was home from late March 2020, when COVID closed classrooms, until October 5, 2020, and then attended until May 2021.
The tuition was split between my mother and me. On October 28, 2020 Sara Lewandowski wrote to us both: "His total tuition payment each month is $568, so you would owe $284.00 every month and Carey Ann would owe $284.00 as well." On November 2, 2020 I signed the Tuition Express form for my half. On November 19, 2020 the school wrote to me, not to him, when a payment did not go through: "Unfortunately, your account was closed to pay [my Younger Son]'s tuition." Later that day: "The form is attached that you filled out." Every payment in the school's statements and my bank records came from me or my mother.
From February 24, 2020 to May 26, 2021 the school emailed 73 daily activity reports about my Younger Son. All 73 came to me. When I wanted to re-enroll him for the fall, I was the one who asked, on August 28, 2021: "How do I enroll [my Younger Son] for this year again?" On August 31 the director answered me that "all of the spaces are full," and on September 7 I asked to be kept "updated if you have an opening." He started at The Goddard School in Macedonia on September 8, 2021. In May and June 2022, a year after he left, Young Explorers family-day emails were still coming to me.
What my texts show about drop-offs and pickups
I searched my texts with my ex-husband, my mother, my friends and others from February 24, 2020 to May 31, 2021 for every drop-off and pickup at Young Explorers. My Younger Son's last daily report from Young Explorers was May 26, 2021, and the first email from The Goddard School came on September 8, 2021, the day he started there. The two schools never overlapped, so every text below is about Young Explorers. My Older Son was at a different school in those years.
February 28, 2020, my Younger Son's third day: his drop-off. My ex-husband couldn't find the school, and he didn't know its name.
- 8:57 AM, him: "Looks like I'm gonna be late." Me: "You just have to walk him in if they're not still out there."
- 9:05 AM, him: "Can't find it."
- 9:06 AM, me: "Young explorers of twinsburg." "Across from McDonald's on 82." "Past Cracker Barrel on the left." I sent him the map link.
- 9:06 AM, him: "Across from mcdonalds is on the RIGHT." 9:07 AM, me: "Why not just put it in your gps I don't understand." Him: "Cause I didn't know what it's called."
- 9:08 AM, him: "Just passed Cracker Barrel again." 9:09 AM: "It's fricking behind mcdonalds."
The other times my texts show he did it:
- October 16, 2020: his pickup. Me, 2:53 PM: "You're picking up [him] now?" "2:50 is car line." Him, 3:18 PM: "I got him." "I was there at like 2:56."
- October 30, 2020: his pickup. Him, 2:46 PM: "I'm driving to pick up [him]."
November 14, 2020: he fell off a roof. Under oath on May 20, 2022 he described it himself: "I fell off a roof 12 feet directly on my -- the lateral side of my right elbow, I suffered an injury called a terrible triad, I had three surgeries within five days, and I was given a recovery time of 18 months to two years" (hearing 5/20/22, 204:13–19). "I fell off the roof in November 14th of 2020 ... My hand was like this, not able to use it, my right hand, and I'm right-handed, for three months" (207:12–19). The texts from those months show what that meant at home:
- November 17, 2020, 12:51 PM. Me, from the hospital: "they think 3-4 month recovery on the elbow and 8-12 month recovery on the nerve and gaining full function of the hand."
- November 26, 2020. Me, to a friend: he "fell off a roof and fractured his elbow last week so he's not going anywhere either since he's having to go to physical therapy every week."
- December 21, 2020, 6:24 PM. Him: "It's really hard to make food and shit with one hand, you should try it sometime."
- January 11, 2021: in his own words, he couldn't do the pickup. Me, 11:03 AM: "Is your mom picking up [him] or are you?" Him, 11:44 AM: "I guess I am, but he'll have to ride home unbuckled in his seat as I'm not physically able to buckle his belt with one hand..."
- January 28 and February 4, 2021. Him: "I'm meeting with the surgeon and it's very important," and, a week later, about "my 3 month appointment and review ... with the surgeon."
- March 19, 2021. Him: "Disability denied."
- August 9, 2021. Him: "Up until a few days ago I've been doing an hour+ of arm stretches/therapy 3x a day."
For months after the fall he couldn't even buckle our son into his car seat, and he could barely make himself food. I did it.
Planned, with no text showing it happened:
- October 19, 2020. Me, 11:33 AM: "Don't forget You're picking up [him] today." Him: "Yeah."
The same texts show me doing it, and him asking me to: on March 2, 2020 I wrote him, "I drop off [my Older Son] at 8:45 and [my Younger Son] at 9"; on November 9, 2020 he wrote, "Just double checking that you'll pick up [him]"; on January 7, 2021 I told a friend, "I have to pick up [him] at 3 from school"; on February 22, 2021 I wrote him, "I can be there at 3:04 to pick up [him]"; and on March 5, 2021 he wrote me, "You need to pick up [him]." On August 18, 2023 I wrote that his teachers "rarely ever saw [my ex-husband] drop off or pick up." The record shows a shared schedule that I laid out. It does not show a father who did it all.
What he swore, and what the school's records show
| My ex-husband, hearing of May 20, 2022 | Young Explorers' own emails, and my texts |
|---|---|
| "Well, essentially, I was the stay-at-home mom. I took care of the children." (138:19–21) | The school sent 273 emails from February 2020 to August 2021, including 73 daily reports. All of them came to me. None went to him. |
| "I -- I woke up with them, made them their breakfast, made them their lunches, drove them to school. I would pick them up from school" (138:21–24) | On February 28, 2020, my Younger Son's third day there, he couldn't find the school and texted that he "didn't know what it's called." My texts show his drop-off that day and his pickups on October 16 and 30, 2020, all before he fell off a roof on November 14, 2020. On the other days, the texts show me doing it, or me telling him when it was his turn. |
| The same day, about the same months: "I fell off the roof in November 14th of 2020 ... My hand was like this, not able to use it, my right hand, and I'm right-handed, for three months" (207:12–19); "If the work required the use of my arm or my hand, then I was prevented from it." (208:17–19) | He swore he was the one who drove the children to school and picked them up (138:19–24). On January 11, 2021, two months after the fall, he texted that our son would "have to ride home unbuckled in his seat as I'm not physically able to buckle his belt with one hand." On December 21, 2020: "It's really hard to make food and shit with one hand." |
| He took care of the children. | I toured the school, enrolled my son, signed the payment form on November 2, 2020, and was the one the school wrote to about tuition, re-enrollment and every daily report. My mother and I paid the tuition. |
The June 8, 2022 order gave my ex-husband custody. My Younger Son had been signed up for summer camp in 2022: on June 8, 2022 I texted my attorney, "I enrolled them in summer camp," and on June 23 I wrote her, "Young explorers can't get back to me till Monday." My Younger Son did not go to summer camp in 2022, because my ex-husband lied and got custody.
The teachers nobody called
On November 9, 2022 at 6:27 PM I texted my attorney, Kimberly Valenti: "We should subpoena [my Younger Son]'s teachers from young explorers." A minute later: "I have a whole photo album of [my Younger Son]'s time at young explorers." I found no subpoena to Young Explorers and no deposition of anyone there. The school's name does not appear in the May 20, 2022 hearing transcript, the June 8, 2022 order, or any filing I have.
On August 18, 2023 at 2:01 PM I forwarded the school's email to the guardian ad litem, James Phillips: "Please reach out to Taylor Chism and Amanda Seely, [my Younger Son]'s teachers at young explorers who rarely ever saw [my ex-husband] drop off or pick up." I found no record that he contacted them. On October 11, 2023 I forwarded the same email to the children's counselor, Lori Long.
2023: the school that would not say
In August 2023 I asked Young Explorers for information about who had dropped off and picked up my Younger Son. On August 18, 2023 at 1:51 PM, Sara Lewandowski answered:
"Looking at the records, [my Younger Son] has not attended our school for over 2 years. Because it has been such a long period of time, we are unable to speak confidently on the pick-up and drop-off procedures. I have attached the payment records for [my Younger Son]'s school. ... It sounds like there is guardian ad litem that may be assigned. They are able to reach out to us if they have further questions." (email, 8/18/23)
The school did not need anyone's memory. Its own system had sent me 73 daily reports, and its own billing emails were written to me. The attachment was my mother's account statement for 2020 and 2021.
Four days later, on August 22, 2023 at 6:49 AM, I wrote to her: "Hi can you please email me all records you have pertaining to [my Younger Son]? Any signed documents or call logs or teacher comments etc?" (email, 8/22/23) The school did not give me those records, and it would not.
On August 22, 2025 I asked the company behind the Preschool2me app for "Anything emailed to me or logged with his schools. Attendance, images, notes, emails etc." On August 25, 2025 it answered: "You will need to contact the centers directly for that information." (email, 8/25/25)
Audio
There is no voicemail or recording from Young Explorers.
Emails and texts, in order
| Date | From → To | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 2/10/20 | Young Explorers → me | "Hi Carey, Thank you, again, for your interest in Young Explorers Montessori!" |
| 2/17/20 | Young Explorers → me | "Thank you so much for choosing Young Explorers Montessori - Twinsburg!" |
| 2/28/20 | My ex-husband ↔ me (texts) | His drop-off on my son's third day: "Can't find it." / "Across from McDonald's on 82" / "Cause I didn't know what it's called." |
| 3/2/20 | Me → my ex-husband (text) | "I drop off [my Older Son] at 8:45 and [my Younger Son] at 9" |
| 10/2/20 | Young Explorers → me and my mother | "We are so excited to have [my Younger Son] return to Young Explorers on Monday." |
| 10/16/20 and 10/30/20 | My ex-husband ↔ me (texts) | His pickups: "I got him." "I was there at like 2:56." / "I'm driving to pick up [him]." |
| 10/28/20 | Sara Lewandowski → my mother and me | "you would owe $284.00 every month and Carey Ann would owe $284.00 as well" |
| 11/2/20 | Me → Young Explorers | Signed Tuition Express payment form for my half |
| 11/14/20 | My ex-husband, under oath on 5/20/22 | "I fell off the roof in November 14th of 2020" ... "three surgeries in five days" (hearing 207:12–15) |
| 11/19/20 | Sara Lewandowski → me | "Unfortunately, your account was closed to pay [my Younger Son]'s tuition." / "The form is attached that you filled out." |
| 11/26/20 | Me → a friend (text) | "fell off a roof and fractured his elbow last week ... he's having to go to physical therapy every week" |
| 1/11/21 | Me ↔ my ex-husband (texts) | "Is your mom picking up [him] or are you?" / "I guess I am, but he'll have to ride home unbuckled in his seat as I'm not physically able to buckle his belt with one hand..." |
| 3/24/21 | Daily report → me | "Teacher(s) Amanda Seely, Taylor Chism" |
| 5/26/21 | Daily report → me | The last of 73 daily reports, all sent to me |
| 8/28/21 – 9/7/21 | Me ↔ Young Explorers | "How do I enroll [my Younger Son] for this year again?" / "all of the spaces are full" |
| 9/8/21 | The Goddard School → me | The first Goddard email, the day my Younger Son started there. Young Explorers and Goddard never overlapped. |
| 6/8/22 and 6/23/22 | Me → Kimberly Valenti (texts) | "I enrolled them in summer camp" / "Young explorers can't get back to me till Monday" |
| 11/9/22 | Me → Kimberly Valenti (text) | "We should subpoena [my Younger Son]'s teachers from young explorers." No subpoena followed. |
| 8/18/23 | Sara Lewandowski → me | "we are unable to speak confidently on the pick-up and drop-off procedures" |
| 8/18/23 | Me → James Phillips, guardian ad litem | "Please reach out to Taylor Chism and Amanda Seely, [my Younger Son]'s teachers at young explorers." No record he did. |
| 8/22/23 | Me → Sara Lewandowski | "please email me all records you have pertaining to [my Younger Son]? Any signed documents or call logs or teacher comments etc?" No records were given. |
| 8/25/25 | Preschool2me's company → me | "You will need to contact the centers directly for that information." |
The law I believe Young Explorers broke
Ohio Revised Code 3109.051(H), with (O)(5)(b): a child-care center's records
The law. A parent who is not the residential parent "is entitled to access, under the same terms and conditions under which access is provided to the residential parent, to any record that is related to the child" unless a court finds otherwise and says so in writing (R.C. 3109.051(H)(1)). "Record" includes "[r]ecords maintained by facilities that provide child care, as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code" (R.C. 3109.051(O)(5)(b)). The keeper of the record "shall permit the parent of the child who is not the residential parent to have access to the record under the same terms and conditions under which access is provided to the residential parent," and a keeper who "knowingly fails to comply" is in contempt of court (R.C. 3109.051(H)).
What Young Explorers did. By August 2023 my ex-husband was the residential parent under the June 8, 2022 order. That order limited my parenting time; I found nothing in it that limited my access to my sons' records. On 8/18/23 the school declined to say who had dropped off and picked up my son and sent me only a payment statement. On 8/22/23 I asked in writing for "all records you have pertaining to [my Younger Son]," including "signed documents or call logs or teacher comments." The school did not give them to me, and it would not.
What I believe. I believe Young Explorers had to give me my Younger Son's records on the same terms it would give them to his father, and that by not answering my August 22, 2023 request it denied me records Ohio law says I am entitled to. Those records would have shown who enrolled him, who signed for him, who the school wrote to every day, and who brought him and took him home. A court was weighing exactly that.
Background. Ohio law also gives a parent who is not the residential parent the same access to the child-care center itself as the other parent, unless a court orders otherwise (R.C. 5104.039; R.C. 3109.051(I)). My Younger Son had left Young Explorers by May 2021, before there was any order, so that law did not come into play.
What the school did do
The record shows this too. For fifteen months Young Explorers treated me as my Younger Son's parent: it wrote to me, billed me, sent me his daily reports and photos, and answered my enrollment questions. Nothing I found shows it ever took my ex-husband's word over a court order or kept me from picking up my son.
What it cost: before the case
These payments were made before my custody case began in March 2022. They show who paid for my Younger Son's preschool. They are not case costs and are not counted on the costs page.
| Item | Amount | Paid by | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November and December tuition, with the $30 returned-payment fee | $668.25 | Me | 12/1/2020 | 2020 year-end statement |
| January – March 2021 tuition (3 × $284) | $852.00 | Me | 1/2021 – 3/2021 | Monthly statements |
| April 2021 tuition | $284.00 | Me | 4/2/2021 | My bank records |
| May 2021 tuition | $284.00 | Me | 5/4/2021 | My bank records |
| Paid by me | $2,088.25 | Includes the $30 fee | ||
| Registration, tuition and fees, less a $140.50 COVID credit | $3,159.00 | My mother | 2/2020 – 5/2021 | School statement sent 8/18/2023 |
| Total paid by my mother and me | $5,247.25 | |||
| Paid by my ex-husband | $0 on record | School statements; my bank records |
The laws, in their own words
- Ohio Revised Code 3109.051: divisions (H) (records), (I) (child-care center access) and (O)(5)(b) (child-care records)
- Ohio Revised Code 5104.039: access to a child-care center for a parent who is not the residential parent
- S.B. 174, Legislative Service Commission analysis (as passed by the Senate)
Children's names, birthdates and addresses are left out of every quote, and no photo of my son is used. Names inside quotes are replaced in brackets. Times are Eastern.