OSBA attorneys Sara Clark and John Price discuss Ohio’s Open Meetings…
Within the past month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced two resolution agreements regarding inadequacies of protections for students in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and thus provides protections for students facing sexual harassment. The law requires schools to introduce efforts to prevent or reduce harassment by other students, not just school officials or employees. The recent resolution…
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on 9/15/2023
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is rolling out guidance documents to help districts manage some of the changes in the 2024-25 biennial budget bill, House Bill (HB) 33. Here are some of the resources that have been issued to date:
Online day plans
ODE has issued some additional information about the HB 33 changes to the calamity day statute…
Posted by John R. Price on 9/6/2023
Senior Deputy Director of Legal Services Jennifer A. Hardin and Staff Attorney John Price discuss a retiring school employee who would like to be rehired into the same position they are leaving. What technical aspects must school boards consider before deciding if such a rehire is advantageous to their…
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on 8/26/2023
Earlier this week, the Ohio Auditor of State (AOS) released an FAQ document on levy activity by public officials and employees. The document has both best practices recommendations and frequently asked questions (…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on 8/18/2023
It’s an election year for school boards of education. The last day to file a nominating petition as a board of education candidate for the November general election was August 9. Write-in candidates have until August 28 to …
Posted by John R. Price on 8/11/2023
House Bill (HB) 33, Ohio’s budget bill, contains several provisions related to reading instruction and screening students with dyslexia. The changes significantly alter districts’ obligations to students in the area of reading instruction.
Third grade…
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on 8/4/2023
This week, the Legal Ledger is focusing on some student wellness issues in the 2024-25 Budget Bill, Ohio Am. Sub. House Bill 33 (HB 33).
First, the General Assembly enacted Ohio Revised Code (RC 3301.91) which will require the Ohio Department of Education/Department of…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on 7/28/2023
Under current law, school bus drivers and licensed educators in Ohio submit their fingerprints to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) as part of a background check that is a condition of their initial employment or licensure. In addition to submitting to these background checks, these employees are also enrolled in a system called the Retained Applicant Fingerprint Database (RAPBACK). This system stores the fingerprints captured as part of the background check…
Posted by John R. Price on 7/24/2023
As we have written in the Legal Ledger in recent weeks, Ohio’s Budget Bill HB 33 was signed by Gov. DeWine on July 3. This week, we will take a look at changes to a program that will have significant implications for school districts: the expansion of the EdChoice Scholarship program into a universal school voucher program.
EdChoice scholarships—or vouchers—can be used by students to attend nonpublic schools of their…