The Legal Ledger

We have all been inundated with information about COVID-19 from many sources, including many orders coming from the Governor and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Some restrictions have been lifted or modified while other restrictions still remain in effect. OSBA has been asked numerous times about the restriction on gatherings of ten or more people, virtual meetings and the extension of time to fill a board vacancy.

The restriction on gatherings of ten or more people was first introduced in the ODH Director’s Mar. 22 “Stay at Home Order.” It was also in the Apr. 2 “Amended Stay…

Last week, the Governor announced that the Interim Director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) would be issuing an order permitting all sports practices and competitions. The order, which was effective last Thursday morning, applies to youth, collegiate, amateur, club and professional sports and establishes minimum standards with which athletes and teams must comply in order to…

On Monday,  Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced that schools can begin applying for the new…

OSBA’s legal assistance fund (LAF) supports school districts and political subdivisions that are defending legal challenges with the potential to affect public schools statewide. In one such LAF case, Buddenberg v. Weisdack, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-3832, the Ohio School Boards Association, Ohio Transit Risk Pool and County Risk Sharing Authority submitted a joint amicus brief on behalf of defendant-petitioners on December 3, 2018.  On July 29, 2020, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued its decision.

Buddenberg involved a civil rights case brought by Rebecca…

On July 20, the Ohio Controlling Board approved requests to appropriate $100 million additional CARES Act funding for K-12 schools. This funding comes from the Coronavirus Relief Fund of the CARES Act and is separate from the $440 million recently allocated from the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSER) Fund. 

These funds are allocated to districts using a base amount established by fiscal year 2019 enrollment data from the State Report Card, with additional money provided to districts to support economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and…

The Ohio Departments of Health (ODH) and Education (ODE) have prepared guidance documents for school districts to use as they plan for the 2020-21 school year. One question that has been raised about the documents is whether school districts are required to implement the elements discussed or whether they are merely recommendations…

Earlier this afternoon, Gov. Mike DeWine announced the release of two guidelines for the re-opening of schools in the fall. One is health focused and the other is for school administrators. Staff of the OSBA division of legal services are reviewing the documents in detail and will provide more information soon.

At his press conference today, Gov. DeWine began discussing how parents are the best and first teachers, and we all have an obligation to educate our children. He further stated that, in Ohio, schools are controlled by locally elected school board members and that school…

Last Friday, OSBA hosted its annual Sports Law Workshop in a virtual format. Thanks to all of the school staff who attended the workshop and to all of the experts who shared their time and excellent information.

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On Monday, June 15^th, the Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of their sexual orientation or gender…

Last Wednesday, at our weekly townhall meeting…