Blogs

On March 27, OSBA participated in the Ohio Attorney General’s meeting Ideas for Our Future: Addressing childhood trauma to create positive outcomes. This was the fifth Attorney General-led meeting addressing the opioid epidemic in Ohio, but the first directly focusing on the epidemic’s impact on children and families. The goal was to share information about programs across Ohio that are working so all interested parties…

A recent employee fatality in a school district highlighted an important, but often overlooked requirement by the Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC): reporting. BWC/PERRP requires that all employee fatalities resulting from a work-related incident must be reported and recorded within eight hours, including inpatient hospitalization of three or more employees from a single work-related incident. The eight-hour reporting requirement starts when the accident takes place or as soon as the district becomes aware of the death or multiple hospitalizations. Reporting can be done either in-person…

Today, all schools may choose to make automatic electronic defibrillators (AEDs) readily available, but what are the legal risks involved in using the devices? Should a school district be prepared to respond to legal challenges if its employees use the AEDs?

According to the American Heart Association, to date, no known judgments have been rendered against the operator of an AED for negligent or improper use. The Air & Space Lawyer (a publication of the American Bar Association) published an article opining the “liability claims associated with the negligent operation of AEDs…

House Bill (HB) 359, Ohio’s new Safe at Home program, became effective yesterday, Sept. 8. The HB 359 bill analysis is available here. The program creates a system of address confidentiality implemented through the secretary of state’s (SOS) office. The new provisions appear in Ohio Revised Code (RC) sections 111.41, 111.42…

On August 31, the United States Departments of Education and Health and Human Services (HHS), along with the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), held a roundtable highlighting best practices for schools to get more students enrolled in health care.  At the roundtable, CDF and AASA unveiled the Insure All Children toolkit to help schools and districts enroll students in health care coverage as a part of the routine school registration process.  

John B. King, Jr…

With continuing concerns over Zika virus transmission, administrators may be left wondering how to handle a potential outbreak in the school setting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a guidance document for schools. The document outlines appropriate planning and response for Zika virus in school districts. The document also includes general information about Zika virus and insights on roles and responsibilities of school officials in relation to both students and staff members.

In addition to…