The Legal Ledger

As the state of emergency has lifted and life is beginning to get back to normal, public meetings have reverted to pre-pandemic guidelines. For example, the Ohio legislature did not extend or make permanent a public board’s ability to conduct meetings in a virtual landscape. 

Initially, HB 197 allowed public meetings to be conducted and attended by members via teleconference, video conference, or any other similar electronic technology through December 1, 2020.  The ability to conduct and attend meetings in this fashion was extended by the legislature in HB 404.…

Last week, amid a flurry of opinions and other actions, the U.S. Supreme Court made a notable decision not to act when it declined to review Gloucester Cty. School District. v. Grimm, a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision involving the rights of transgender students. The court’s decision was not unanimous – Justice Alito and Justice Thomas would have reviewed the case – but the 7-2 vote means the 4th…

On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that school employees may not carry firearms unless they have peace officer training or 20 years of experience as a peace officer (Gabbard v. Madison Local School Dist. School Bd. of Edn., Slip…

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR)  issued a …

The legal division at OSBA hosts many workshops and seminars throughout the year.  These workshops are for a wide variety of attendees and the next workshop is the Sports Law Workshop on June 24 in the afternoon and June 25 in the morning. This event is virtual, so you can learn and ask questions in casual wear. 

The workshop will feature a session on the do’s and don’ts of coaching contracts by Dave Lampe of Bricker & Eckler LLP. There will be a case law update with a discussion about technology in sports from OSBA’s own Sara Clark and Jennifer Hardin.  On the…

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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One of the more intriguing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the changeover of board of education meetings from live, to electronic or remote, and back to live. When the pandemic began, state law in Ohio required public boards, including boards of education, to hold their meetings in person. In March 2020, the Ohio General Assembly passed…

The United States Department of Education's (DOE) Office for Civil Rights recently released a guidance document: Questions and Answers on Civil Rights and School Reopening in the COVID-19 Environment. The guide provides some answers to common questions about schools' responsibilities under the civil rights laws with an emphasis on the different situations that have occurred or may occur with special education students.

One of the first questions is about each school’s obligation to provide FAPE…

In early 2021, Governor DeWine signed HB 436…

The deadline for districts to file blended learning declarations for the 2021-22 school year is July 1, 2021. As districts are considering their options to best serve students next year, one important factor is understanding the extent to which students can access learning from home.  

One tool districts could use to assist with that effort is the recently…