The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has issued a reminder about the annual consolidated school report that each school district must file this autumn. The report for the 2021-22 school year is due by Nov. 30, 2022, and ODE has recently prepared instructions for districts to follow when filing it. At any time…
Posted by Van D. Keating on 7/27/2018
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As a reminder to school districts, Ohio law requires SERS to impose reporting and payment penalties on employers that do not meet relevant due dates. Although SERS may extend a due date for "… |
Posted by Shadya Yazback on 1/22/2016
In December, the General Assembly enacted the “ban the box” law, House Bill (H.B.) 56. The bill creates R.C. 9.73, which prohibits public employers in Ohio from including any questions about a person’s criminal background on employment applications. School districts should take steps now to ensure compliance with the law when it becomes effective on March 23, 2016.
While employers will no longer be able to ask about a candidate’s criminal history on employment applications, employers can…
Posted by Shadya Yazback on 11/12/2015
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 state tax…
Posted by Shadya Yazback on 10/13/2015
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…
Posted by Shadya Yazback on 9/3/2015
With the end of summer comes falling leaves, football, and OSBA’s legal hotline abuzz with enrollment questions throughout the state. One of those questions: our school district requests a student’s social security number (SSN) to enroll students. What do we do if the parent doesn’t provide one?
Under the Privacy Act of 1974, a school district may not prevent a student from enrollment for failure to provide their SSN or proof the student has an SSN.
School districts are permitted to ask for a SSN upon…
Posted by Shadya Yazback on 8/11/2015
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has released an information sheet on testing dates for FY2016, adjusted for the changes required by the recent passage of the biennium budget. The department has also issued a guidance document on safe harbor provisions designed to assist administrators in understanding the…
Posted by Shadya Yazback on 4/30/2015
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits gender discrimination in any education program or activity that is supported by federal monies. On April 24, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) reminded schools receiving federal dollars that they must designate at least one employee to coordinate Title IX compliance and released a guidance package relating to Title IX compliance.
Each school district must have a designated Title IX coordinator at all times. The Title IX coordinator is responsible for coordinating their school district’s…
Posted by Sara Clark on 3/3/2015
Each board of education is required by law to adopt a “school safety plan” for each building in the district. Recently, the laws have changed regarding the creation and submission of these plans. Changes to RC 3313.536 became effective last fall, and ODE’s accompanying administrative rule (OAC 3301-5-01) became effective in January. Changes include:
Name change. Previously, the law referred to these plans as “school safety plans.” The new laws change the name of the plans to “emergency management plans.”
More schools must adopt plans. Previously, plans were…
Posted by Candice Christon on 5/23/2013
On January 25, 2013, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) notifying schools that students with disabilities must be afforded equal access to extracurricular athletics. The DCL comes after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report noting the positive impact that extracurricular athletics has on students, especially those with disabilities. In its report, the GAO determined that public elementary and secondary students with disabilities are not being provided an equal opportunity to participate in…