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The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is easing requirements for COVID-19 case reporting by K-12 schools. As of March 10, K-12 schools are no longer required to:

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Earlier today, the CDC updated its guidance regarding masks and other face coverings. For many counties in the state, CDC is no longer requiring universal indoor masking in public settings, including schools. Although masks are no longer required in certain counties, CDC notes that people should wear them if they have symptoms, a positive test result, or exposure to someone with COVID-19.

The new guidance is based on COVID-19…

On Wednesday, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released new contact tracing and case…

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has updated its online and blended learning guidance for the 2021-22 school year. The guidance now includes a new section in the FAQs on temporary online learning for closures due to COVID-19 outbreaks, as well as adding FAQs expanding guidance related to online learning and blended learning.

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Over the last few weeks, as more people across the country are getting vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), states, and local governments have revised their guidelines for citizens. School district should also be aware of their city and county health department guidelines. In some cases, local guidelines are more restrictive than either state or federal provisions.

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There have been a few important new guidance documents issued from the Ohio Departments of Education (ODE) and Health (ODH). Here’s a quick overview of their key elements.

ODH guidance document

On April 8, ODH issued the Director’s Amended Order for Social Distancing, Facial Coverings and Non-Congregating. The order…

Late on Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Department of Education (USDOE) release updated guidance to support school districts as they continue the return to in-person instruction.

CDC’s Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation is intended to assist schools to open safely and soon. The Operational Strategy, based on available science and data on COVID-19, describes a pathway to in-person instruction using an “…

Over the last few weeks, it seems like everyone is talking about vaccines. "Have you gotten it?" "Are you a 1a or a 1b?" "How do I get my shot?"

OSBA’s legal division, in anticipation of questions from districts, has put together a quick Q&A to help districts answer some of the questions they may get from employees, parents and students.…

It has been said many times: 2020 has been an extraordinary year. Given the multitude of unique challenges that schools have met since the beginning of the year, it is sometimes difficult to focus on those laws that were in place before March 2020 and still affect school board members and staff. For example, the Ethics Law and related statutes continue to apply to district officials and employees notwithstanding building closures, hybrid learning models, virtual parent-teacher meetings and all of the other unique…

Last week, the Governor announced that the Interim Director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) would be issuing an order permitting all sports practices and competitions. The order, which was effective last Thursday morning, applies to youth, collegiate, amateur, club and professional sports and establishes minimum standards with which athletes and teams must comply in order to…