Student walkouts and protests can raise important legal and practical questions for school leaders. In our most recent Legal Ledger Sidebar, Sara Clark and Dustin Koslen discuss how districts can balance students’ First Amendment rights with maintaining safe and orderly schools.
Shadow AI in schools is the use of AI tools by teachers, staff and students without the knowledge or permission of the administration, especially AI tools that haven’t been vetted and approved by the district.
On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter stating that days during which a school is closed, do not count as Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) days for employees that planned to be on FMLA leave during those days but for less than the full week.
In this Legal Ledger Sidebar, Jennie Hardin and Dustin Koslen discuss the Ohio Ethics Law’s restrictions related to conflicts of interest for board members. Included among the topics are who is subject to the law, how the law works in real-world situations, and resources for board members.
As new Ohio school board members are becoming acquainted with public meetings, it is a good time to review some helpful tips regarding board member communications, including executive sessions.
Communications between multiple board members outside of the open meeting
In this Legal Ledger Sidebar, Sara Clark and Jennie Hardin talk to Scott Gerfen about the board’s hiring and management of contracts with its two key administrative employees: the superintendent and treasurer. We’ll cover the statutes that govern these two employment relationships and get into some examples about how the timing plays out. Stay tuned for the end when we get a new portmanteau name!
January is a time of transition for many Ohio school boards. As the board begins a new year together, taking a few minutes to review key voting basics can help meetings run smoothly and support confident, effective decision-making.
What happens when the person elected to a school board position in November decides they don’t want to be a board member? Over the years, OSBA’s legal division has gotten a number of questions from school districts with a variety of factual situations involving how their boards will be structured after an election. One unusual situation is when a person who was elected in November has decided in the intervening months that they are not interested in serving in the position. The key question to answer is when does the position become vacant.
