Ohio
More than 140,000 Ohioans live with epilepsy. About 16,900 of them are children and teens.
In July 2018, the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and Columbus disaffiliated from the Epilepsy Foundation of America and became Epilepsy Alliance Ohio.
Here's what you need to know about living with epilepsy in Ohio, and where the fight is.
Representation
Jon Husted, U.S. Senator (R-OH) | (202) 224-3353
Bernie Moreno, U.S. Senator (R-OH) | (202) 224-2315
Go Here To Find Your Congressional Representative
Driving Laws
Ohio's driver's license application asks whether you are now or have ever been afflicted with epilepsy, and if so, the nature of the disability and your physician's name and address. There is no specific length of time you must be seizure-free.
In practice, you'll visit a doctor who signs off on your ability to drive safely on a BMV form, typically with follow-up appointments every six months. Depending on what your physician puts on the form, the BMV may issue a restricted license — restrictions can cover hours of driving, whether you need supervision, and how many passengers you can carry. For certain license types, the applicant must show the condition has been under continuous medical control for at least a year
Physicians in Ohio are not required to report you. No statutory provision requires physicians to report patients diagnosed with epilepsy to a central state agency, and reporting is permissive rather than mandatory.
Ohio prohibits anyone with an established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy from being licensed to operate a school bus (Ohio Admin. Code 3301-83-07). Interstate commercial driving follows federal medical standards.
School Laws
Ohio passed Sarah's Law, House Bill 33, which Governor Mike DeWine signed in July 2023 as part of the state operating budget.
The law is named for Sarah Linardos of Springfield, Ohio, who had seizures from the age of 15 and died at 26 of SUPED (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy).
Sarah's Law requires all school personnel, including nurses and staff, in public and chartered schools to receive seizure first aid training. It requires schools to create an individualized seizure action plan for each student with a diagnosed seizure disorder, developed in collaboration with parents or guardians and a healthcare professional. It requires at least one employee in each school building to be trained in implementing seizure action plans every two years.
That's a requirement, not a permission. Ohio families have real ground to stand on.
If your school isn't complying: put it in writing, ask for the seizure action plan, ask which employee in the building holds the implementation training, and when they last completed it. Sarah's Law gives you the right to ask.
Support
Epilepsy Alliance Ohio has existed since 1953. In July 2018, it disaffiliated from the Epilepsy Foundation of America and became a founding member of Epilepsy Alliance America alongside eight other organizations that had also left. Its stated reason, from its own leadership: the board felt the national organization's mission was changing and no longer aligned with the local mission. It serves 64 counties in Ohio, 10 in Kentucky and 2 in Indiana, from offices in Cincinnati (895 Central Avenue) and Columbus (3857 North High Street).
Their groups: an in-person Columbus adult group, first Wednesday monthly, at the Dempsey Family Education and Resource Center in the Neuroscience Tower at Riverside Methodist Hospital. An in-person Cincinnati group, second Wednesday monthly, at the Mason Community Center. A men's group by Zoom, first Tuesday monthly. A virtual adult group meets the third Wednesday of each month. A private moms' Facebook group. Plus free mental health counseling, art therapy, Camp Flame Catcher, scholarships, an emergency assistance fund for medication and travel costs, and four residential group homes.
Epilepsy Foundation Ohio also operates in the state as part of the national network.
The Epilepsy Association, based in Cleveland (epilepsyinfo.org), has served northeastern Ohio since 1953 with medication assistance, transportation, emergency funds and education.
Epilepsy Care
If your seizures aren't controlled after 12 months with a general neurologist — or after two medications have failed — national guidelines say you should be at a Level 3 or Level 4 center. Most people who meet that bar were never told it existed.
Check out the NAEC to find a Level 3 or4 Epilepsy Center near you.
Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus (Level 4 pediatric — complex neurodiagnostic monitoring, advanced surgery including intracranial electrode evaluation, serving as a regional referral center).
Additional Level 3 and Level 4 centers operate across Ohio, including in the Cleveland and Cincinnati metros. Verify current accreditation in the NAEC directory.
Worth knowing if you're in eastern Ohio: the University of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Epilepsy Center is a Level 4 that explicitly serves as a regional referral center for Ohio, and may be closer than crossing your own state.