Last Thursday, federal courts granted injunctions that block the enforcement and implementation of several recent actions of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). These decisions specifically enjoin enforcement of the Title VI certification request issued several weeks ago that asked school districts to certify that their practices comply with Title VI in light of the administration’s interpretation of the law related to “illegal DEI.” This request was discussed in a…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on
Earlier this month, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) issued a revision of the model policies boards may adopt to implement the requirements for the education of children with disabilities. The law requires board to adopt policies implementing federal and state requirements related to special education. Boards may do so by adopting the ODEW model or…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on
On April 7, 2025, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), …
Posted by John R. Price on
Last Friday, the federal government issued an announcement introducing the “Title IX Special Investigations Team” (SIT). The announcement indicated that SIT will be a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Justice (DOJ) and will consist of attorneys and investigators from both…
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On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “…
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In this week's Legal Ledger Sidebar, OSBA's Scott Gerfen and John Price discuss special education model policies.
They talk about the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's model policies, the concerns with the Model as written and some…
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One of the bills enacted in the last general assembly requires school districts to make information about the telephone number for the national suicide and crisis lifeline available to students. The new law, Ohio Revised Code (RC) 3313.474, is effective on April 9, 2025. It requires that each district serving any of grades nine through 12 include the telephone number (988) in the following places, if they are used by the district:
- Each student identification card.
- Each planner issued to a student…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on
The Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) recently weighed in on the application of the Ohio Ethics Law to public officials or employees participating in matters involving their domestic partners. In their …
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One of the initiatives implemented by the Ohio General Assembly in the last term was the funding of school safety training grants. The funding is awarded to public and private schools by the Office of the Attorney General of Ohio (OhioAGO), in consultation with the Director of Education and Workforce and the Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services. According to House Bill 33, the funds are available to make grants to schools and law enforcement agencies to support:
- School resource officer certification training.
- Any type of active shooter and school safety…
Posted by John R. Price on
On February 11, the Ohio Department of Education released the Tier 1 Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Module Series. State law defines PBIS to mean “a multi-tiered, school-wide, behavioral framework developed and implemented for the purpose of improving academic and social outcomes and increasing learning for all…