The Legal Ledger

The OSBA legal assistance fund (LAF) was established in 1976.  The fund supports school districts that are defending legal challenges with the potential to affect public schools statewide. Support may come in the form of legal research, amicus curiae briefs, financial assistance and any other assistance as may be approved by the trustees. LAF is managed by a three-member board of trustees made up of OSBA’s president, president-elect and executive director.

In many cases, the fund provides assistance in the form of an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court” brief. An amicus…

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…

Earlier this week, a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Texas, issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education from taking action to enforce their guidance letter on the rights of transgender students under Title IX.  For a summary of the federal guidance, please see our…

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…

Earlier this week, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released a reminder to school districts related to the College Credit Plus (CCP) program. Ohio Administrative Code section 3333-1-65.5 requires Ohio to collect data about the CCP program. As a result, ODE has set a deadline of Friday, Aug. 12, for district submission this year. Districts can submit the requested information here by completing a six-question…

On an annual basis, the National School Board Association’s (NSBA) Office of General Counsel legal staff updates federal resources documents. NSBA recently updated the following documents for the 2016-2017 school year:

• 2016 Annual Notices
  This chart describes some of the notices required by federal law and provides links to documents that may be used in writing such notices.
   
• …

ODE news:  Every Student Succeeds Act webinars and stakeholder meetings and comment period for revisions to learning standards ending

As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is required to create a Student Success Plan.  The plan will describe how local, state and federal programs are aligned.  ODE is inviting school board members, district employees, teachers, parents and any other interested parties to attend one of ten stakeholder meetings to share ideas for the development of the Student…

On Thursday, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a ruling in State ex rel. School Choice Ohio, Inc. v. Cincinnati Pub. School Dist. [Cincinnati Public School District was dismissed as a respondent in this case when it entered into a settlement agreement with SCO.]

In October 2013, School Choice Ohio (SCO) submitted a public records request to Springfield City School District, requesting:

1. Student’s and parent’s/guardian’s name,
2. Parent’s/guardian's complete address and email address…

The maintenance, destruction and preservation of public records is an important and technical process. Under Ohio law, public records must be kept and maintained so that the public may access those records. Records must be retained for certain periods of time, sometimes permanently, depending upon the type of record.

While most records today are born digital, many public sector agencies are still pressed with issues of storing, retrieving and managing the paper-based records in their possession. At OSBA, we are hearing from more school…