The Legal Ledger

The Ohio Ethics Law requires certain elected officials and public employees to annually file a financial disclosure statement with the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC). A financial disclosure statement requires a filer to disclose information regarding their personal financial interests and fiduciary relationships for the preceding calendar year.

Historically, the deadline for filers was April 15. However, in June 2015, HB 64 made changes to Revised Code section 102.02, including revisions to the filing deadline. As a result, the statutory deadline is now May 15. This year, May 15 falls…

OSBA’s Legal Division has recently posted updates to three of its fact sheets:

• District Property Disposal
• Misconduct Reporting
• Rehiring Retirees

The full list of fact sheets that OSBA has published can be accessed here.  

The Legal Division, in conjunction with OSBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, has published a new resource page on diverse learners. The page provides some resource links that provide background, contextual information, and guidance around certain groups of students.

You can visit the resource page here: http://www.ohioschoolboards.org/diverse-student-learners. 

There are some important dates coming up in relation to the College Credit Plus (CCP) program for the 2016-17 school year. CCP allows students in grades 7-12 to enroll at any public college/university and any participating nonpublic college/university on a full- or part-time basis and complete nonsectarian, nonremedial courses for transcripted high school and/or college credit.

Districts should have already provided students in grades 6-12 with information about participation in CCP by the required March 1 deadline. Districts also are required to hold an informational session by…

The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a public entity in a construction contract dispute where OSBA’s Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) provided amicus support. The decision is a good one for school districts and other public entities, especially those interested in putting in place penalties for a construction company’s failure to complete work in a timely manner.

In 2007, the Village of Piketon solicited bids to install a traffic signal. The contract with the winning bidder, Boone Coleman…

The U.S. Department of Education recently observed that children from Muslim families, Arab American children, and boys from Sikh families that wear religious head coverings are at increased risk to be targets of bullying as a result of backlash from recent domestic and international terror attacks.  In the aftermath of the Paris attacks and San Bernadino shootings, the…

On Feb. 3, the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) Office for Exceptional Children released a memo providing guidance for school districts in serving students with disabilities who are confined to community corrections facilities (CCF) and juvenile detention…

OSBA is seeking workshop presenters for its 2016 Capital Conference. One of the nation’s top education conferences, the event features more than 100 learning sessions covering topics of special interest to board members and administrators. OSBA selects workshop proposals based on innovation; relevance; proven success; strong interest; and practical, how-to information. The nomination deadline is March 11 at 5 p.m. They can be submitted online at conference.ohioschoolboards.org/nominate. There also is a link on that page to…

This morning, the Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments in School Choice Ohio Inc. v. Cincinnati Public School District and Springfield City School District. School Choice Ohio (SCO) filed the lawsuit after the Springfield City School District denied SCO’s request for student names and addresses. In 2013, Springfield adopted a policy that stopped student names, addresses, phone numbers and other identifying data from being designated as “directory information” under the Family Education Rights and Privacy…

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…