The Legal Ledger

Yes. On April 22, 2010, the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) issued Advisory Opinion No. 2010-01 regarding the application of the Ethics Law to community school officials. All governing boards of community schools are required to sign contracts agreeing to be bound by RC Chapter 102 and Section 2921.42. Because governing boards of community schools are agents of public agencies, the governing board members are also subject…

Yes. The general rule is that boards must first offer the opportunity to direct, supervise, or coach a pupil activity program to qualified, licensed individuals in the district (RC 3313.53). Boards of education are permitted to employ non-licensed individuals who have pupil activity permits to direct, supervise, or coach a pupil activity program, but only if the board passes a resolution that outlines two things. First, the resolution must outline that the board has offered the position to a licensed individual in the district and that no one qualified has applied for or accepted the…

A number of districts have received public records requests asking for specific information relating to the curriculum that is being provided in the district. Please keep the following points in mind when complying with these requests:

• Trade secrets are exempt from the Public Records Act. Trade secrets are defined in R.C. 1333.61(D) and includes information that gets its value from the fact that it is not generally known or readily ascertainable by other people who can obtain…

HB 1, which became effective in October 2009, requires insurers, Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs), health insuring corporations (HICs) and public employee benefit plans to offer parents the opportunity to purchase health care coverage for their children up to age 28. This new opportunity must be provided for all policies or contracts issued or renewed, and plans established or modified, on or after July 1, 2010.

Who is eligible? To receive benefits up to age 28, the unmarried child must…

There are special rules in place for teachers and other instructional employees who take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) at or near the end of the school year. The federal regulations contemplate three different scenarios, depending on when the employee takes the leave.

• More than 5 weeks until summer. If an employee begins FMLA leave more than five weeks before the end of the term, the district may require the employee to continue taking leave until the end of the term if the leave…

Yes. RC 3313.642 (D) allows a school board to charge students for instructional materials and for the loss, damage or destruction of school equipment, musical instruments, library materials, or textbooks. If a student who is required to pay fees refuses to pay any fees or charges he or she is assessed, the student's grades and credits may be withheld by the board until such payment is made. Keep in mind that recent changes to RC 3313.642 now prohibit school boards from charging instructional fees to students who are eligible for a free lunch under the National School Lunch Act and the…

This spring, the United States Supreme Court will hear the case of City of Ontario v. Quon, which questions whether the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of text messages that a government employee sends by electronic device.

In 2001, the city of Ontario, California distributed pagers to a number of the employees in its police department. Jeff Quon, a member of the departments SWAT team, received one of the pagers. The city had no official policy governing…

In the case of Lowery v. Jefferson County Bd. of Educ., a high school football coach from Jefferson County High School in Tennessee dismissed three students from the football team for challenging his leadership. After the students parents were unsuccessful with their complaints to school officials, they addressed their concerns to the Jefferson County Board of Education.

The Jefferson County Board of Education had a policy in place that allowed an individual to apply to…

On January 1, 2010, changes became effective regarding background check requirements for licensed educators in Ohio. For initial applicants for a license, the requirements are the same: initial applicants for a license must complete both an Ohio criminal background check (BCII) and an FBI criminal background check. These checks need to be less than 365 days old to be considered valid for licensing purposes.

However, HB 1 modified the requirements for educators who need to renew a…

Boards are generally permitted to adopt a resolution to grant board members free admission to school-sponsored events, but should be cognizant of the relevant ethics laws and the potential for appearances of impropriety. The Ohio Revised Code prohibits public officials, including school board members, from using their office to solicit or accept things of value from those parties they regulate or with whom they do business. The Ohio Ethics Commission provides general guidance on accepting gifts, meals, entertainment or other things of value in Information Sheet #7, which is available…