On Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court held in the case White v. King that Ohio’s Open Meetings Act prohibits any private prearranged discussion of public business by a majority of the members of a public body regardless of whether the discussion occurs face to face, telephonically, by video conference, or electronically by email, text, tweet or other form of communication.
The Fourth Circuit court of appeals recently ruled in G.G. v. Gloucester Cty. School Bd., that courts must give deference to the U.S. Department of Education’s recent guidance that public schools must treat a transgender student in conformity with the student’s gender identity.
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.
OSBA’s Legal Division has recently posted updates to three of its fact sheets:
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.
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.
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.
