On April 7, 2025, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), …
Posted by John R. Price on
Last Friday, the federal government issued an announcement introducing the “Title IX Special Investigations Team” (SIT). The announcement indicated that SIT will be a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Justice (DOJ) and will consist of attorneys and investigators from both…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “…
Posted by John R. Price on
In this week's Legal Ledger Sidebar, OSBA's Scott Gerfen and John Price discuss special education model policies.
They talk about the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's model policies, the concerns with the Model as written and some…
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on
One of the bills enacted in the last general assembly requires school districts to make information about the telephone number for the national suicide and crisis lifeline available to students. The new law, Ohio Revised Code (RC) 3313.474, is effective on April 9, 2025. It requires that each district serving any of grades nine through 12 include the telephone number (988) in the following places, if they are used by the district:
- Each student identification card.
- Each planner issued to a student…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on
The Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) recently weighed in on the application of the Ohio Ethics Law to public officials or employees participating in matters involving their domestic partners. In their …
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on
One of the initiatives implemented by the Ohio General Assembly in the last term was the funding of school safety training grants. The funding is awarded to public and private schools by the Office of the Attorney General of Ohio (OhioAGO), in consultation with the Director of Education and Workforce and the Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services. According to House Bill 33, the funds are available to make grants to schools and law enforcement agencies to support:
- School resource officer certification training.
- Any type of active shooter and school safety…
Posted by John R. Price on
On February 11, the Ohio Department of Education released the Tier 1 Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Module Series. State law defines PBIS to mean “a multi-tiered, school-wide, behavioral framework developed and implemented for the purpose of improving academic and social outcomes and increasing learning for all…
Posted by Sara C. Clark on
Back in August, OSBA’s Legal Ledger provided an overview of some of the more frequently asked questions we receive about released time for religious instruction. As a reminder, “released time” is a period of time during…
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on
Recently, President Donald J. Trump has signed executive orders, and several federal agencies have issued communications, addressing various policy areas, including K-12 education. While executive orders primarily guide federal agencies, they often indicate broader policy priorities that may impact schools and educational institutions. Given that several recent orders impact the U.S. Department of Education or discuss K-12 education, we are providing a summary and links to these executive orders and communications.
Executive orders
Executive Order 14168 -…