The Legal Ledger

Happy New Year! At the beginning of every year, the division of legal services receives questions relating to organizational meeting procedures and the administration of the oath of office. Let’s take a moment to review the basics.

RC 3313.14 requires, city, local, exempted village and joint vocational school (JVS) boards to organize within the first 15 days of January. An educational service center (ESC) governing board has until the end of the month to hold its organizational meeting.

The meeting should be called to order by the president pro tem, and opening ceremonies (…

In our final blog post for 2015, we’re taking a look at the last of the most common conflict-of-interest questions OSBA receives on its hotline: board members who hold more than one public office.  Previous weeks have covered scenarios where:

• the individual currently works for the district,
• the individual has a family member working for the school district, and
• …

This month, we’ve been looking at the most common questions OSBA attorneys receive regarding board member conflicts-of-interest.  Those include:

• the individual currently works for the district,
• the individual has a family member working for the school district,
• the individual is employed by a company that has an active contract with the district (discussed below),…

Through the month of December, we’re looking at the most common scenarios in which an incoming board member may have a conflict of interest.  Last week, we discussed individuals currently working and volunteering for the district (you can read that blog entry here).  This week, we’ll take a look at board members that have family members working for the school district.  In the coming weeks, we’ll look at board members that are employed by or own a company that has an active…

Hundreds of new individuals will begin serving on school boards in Ohio next month.  The legal hotline has received several questions about conflicts of interest for incoming members.  (Remember: OSBA attorneys cannot provide a legal analysis of the specifics for a board member, but we can provide legal information to help you determine whether you should speak with board counsel about a potential conflict.)

While it can arise in many contexts, we most commonly receive the question as one of four basic scenarios:

• the individual currently works for the district…

Since 1977, OSBA’s Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) has provided supportive assistance to boards of education in cases or controversies of statewide significance. Qualifying districts may request and receive:

• financial assistance to pay for a portion of litigation expenses
• an amicus curiae brief to be filed on behalf of the district
• legal research or consultation to assist the district’s attorney

In 2015, LAF provided support in several cases…

Candidates required to file a post-general election campaign finance report must do so by December 11.  You can find the reporting forms on the Secretary of State’s website.

Due to the presidential election and changes to election dates passed in HB 64, the only spring election date available to school districts is March 15, 2016.  The deadlines for submitting a resolution of necessity to the county auditor (for a property tax) or…

Attorneys can earn 5.0 CLE credits at the School Law Workshop presented by the Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys on Tuesday, Nov. 10.  The workshop will take place in Rooms C 210-212.  Sessions include:

• School district and municipal collaboration
• Hot topics in public records law
• When passion becomes a problem
• Religion and public schools
• Unpacking Title IX: K-12 compliance issues

OSBA attorneys will also be presenting several sessions at Capital Conference.  Sara Craven Clark, director of legal services, will…

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) released a resource guide to help school districts better support undocumented youth. According to DOE, the aim of the guide is to help educators and school staff "support the academic success of undocumented youth, to debunk misconceptions by clarifying the legal rights of undocumented students as well as sharing helpful information about financial aid options open to undocumented students."

The guide includes resources aimed at high school and…

Among the many provisions impacting school districts in the biennium budget (HB 64) that took effect on September 29, 2015 was a significant change to the property disposal process for school districts. 

Pursuant to newly-enacted Revised Code Section (RC) 3313.413, school districts seeking to dispose of real property must now first offer the property for sale to the governing authorities of high-performing community schools and any newly established community schools that are implementing a community school model that has a track…