Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is turning fallout from the FirstEnergy corruption scandal into a training ground for future prosecutors, rolling out a new program at Cleveland State University’s College of Law that will be funded with $5 million in civil penalties tied to the case. The program is scheduled to begin with the 2026-27 academic year and is expected to enroll roughly 10 to 12 students per year.
Program and funding
Yost’s office says Cleveland State was picked through a competitive request-for-proposals process. The Attorney General’s Office is providing a one-time $5 million endowment that CSU will invest, while the university is adding $2.2 million of its own support, creating about $7.2 million intended to keep the program running long term. The partnership is structured as a 15-year arrangement aimed at building and sustaining a pipeline of prosecutors for offices across Ohio. Ohio Attorney General’s Office
Where the money came from
The seed money traces back to civil fines FirstEnergy paid in connection with its high-profile bribery scandal. Yost stressed that, despite the state funding, the law school will keep control over the classroom. “This is a law school, and there is academic freedom here,” he said. Ideastream Public Media reported that the grant is drawn from FirstEnergy’s civil penalties.
What students will do
According to CSU’s College of Law, the program will center on a prosecution clinic where students work on real cases under close supervision, paired with mentorship and placements around the state to sharpen trial skills. Enrollment will be capped at about 10 to 12 students a year to keep the training intensive, and program leaders expect graduates to move directly into prosecutor offices throughout Ohio. The program is slated to launch in fall 2026, according to WOIO/Cleveland19.
Context and reaction
The funding is part of the long tail of the House Bill 6 scandal and related bribery investigations that have shadowed FirstEnergy for years, with federal and state prosecutions and civil actions still moving through the courts. Coverage by The Associated Press shows that criminal trials tied to the broader scheme remain active.
Not everyone has been thrilled with how settlement money in the case has been carved up. Some lawmakers and consumer advocates have argued that penalties should have been higher and more directly targeted to ratepayers. State Sen. Kent Smith has called the original settlement “a paltry sum” and questioned how those dollars are ultimately spent. His concerns are detailed in a statement from State Sen. Kent Smith.
Legal questions
Critics of deals like this say civil penalties from corruption cases ought to flow first to customers or into grid improvements, not into new academic programs. Supporters counter that once the fines are collected, there is room to put the money into public-interest projects, as long as there is some transparency and an open selection process.
The Attorney General’s Office has framed the CSU award as the result of a competitive process, but how high-profile settlement funds get divvied up is rarely controversy-free. Coverage by Cleveland.com and other outlets has highlighted the ongoing debate over whether this kind of allocation hits the mark for public accountability.
Why it matters locally
Prosecutor offices around Ohio have complained for years about how hard it is to recruit and train new lawyers, especially outside the state’s biggest counties. CSU officials say this program is designed to plug that gap by giving students hands-on courtroom time, guided mentoring, and placements where local offices are most in need of help.
Local prosecutors who joined the announcement argued that the clinic could strengthen hiring pipelines into public service and give young attorneys the kind of on-the-ground experience they usually only get after they are already on the job. Ideastream Public Media reported that program leaders are planning rural placements and a strong focus on ethics training as part of the curriculum.
