The Legal Ledger

The United States Department of Education (USDOE) has announced a new school funding pilot program and an interactive resource for data on English Learners (ELs).

As Ohio public school districts welcome former ECOT students back into their schools, OSBA is supporting boards of education with any assistance they need to help students smoothly transition into the public school system.

On Jan. 16, via press release, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced the approval of Ohio’s state plan submitted as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Ohio was one of 11 states receiving DOE plan approval, including Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Does your board have new members? Have you been a board member for a while, but want to brush up on some of the basics? OSBA’s upcoming workshop — “Board member 101: Survival kit for your first 90 days in office” — may be just the ticket.

Ohio Revised Code (RC) 3313.82 requires every school district and educational service center (ESC) to assemble a business advisory council. As part of the most recent budget bill, the Ohio General Assembly enacted RC 3313.821, which directs the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the governor’s executive workforce board, to establish standards for the operation of business advisory councils.

On Dec. 7, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released a Q&A document clarifying the scope of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) following the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) March 2017 decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District.

The Local Government Records Program at the Ohio History Connection recently shared an updated model retention schedule for school districts. The schedule identifies records that are commonly created by school districts and provides suggestions for the length of their retention.

One month from today, hundreds of newly-elected board members will begin terms of office on their local boards of education. Board inquiries concerning board transition, the organizational meeting, oath of office, and new board member training opportunities are some of the most frequently asked questions we respond to at this time of year. Please find below a list of resources OSBA has compiled to help districts, and new board members, during this transitional period:

Board member transition

The administrative offices for a district burn to the ground. A tornado wipes out electrical service for all of the schools in another district for three weeks. Computer hackers take over a district’s mainframe, shutting staff out and wiping out years of stored data. Would your district be prepared for one of these events?

School Law Workshop