Did you know that OSBA’s division of legal services provides fact sheets on many topics relevant to public school districts in Ohio? These quick references provide answers to some of the more frequently asked questions the division receives. In the past year, the division has updated several fact sheets and other publications. Are you using the most recent version? Here are the fact sheets that have been updated in the past year:
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court answered a question that it had deferred 35 years ago in its seminal opinion on education for children with disabilities—Board of Edn. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist. v. Rowley.
In Rowley, the court concluded that the guarantee of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in what is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is met if a child’s individualized education program (IEP) sets out a program that is “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” However…
Ohio’s Open Meetings Act was enacted in 1975 as Ohio Revised Code Section (RC) 121.22. It, together with the Public Records Act (RC 149.43), is commonly referred to as “the Sunshine law.”
The Open Meetings Act’s basic purpose is to require public bodies, including boards of education to:
On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision in State ex rel. Delaware Joint Vocational School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Testa, Slip Opinion No. 2017-Ohio-796. The case, discussed in a Jan. 27 Legal Ledger post, involves a Renewal Levy passed in November 2015 by the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC). Ninety-nine percent of DACC’s territory is in Delaware County, while less than 1% falls in Franklin, Marion, Morrow…
On February 22, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice withdrew their previous joint guidance that provided information for schools on the departments’ interpretation of the rights of and protections for transgender students under Title IX. Noting that the “interpretation has given rise to significant litigation regarding school restrooms and locker rooms,” the Departments said “there must be due regard…
Earlier today, a unanimous United States Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools. The Court overturned the lower courts’ decisions and remanded the case to the appeals court to determine whether the plaintiffs’ suit is about a denial of a FAPE rather than discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
The Fry case involved E.F., a student with cerebral palsy, and her assistance dog, Wonder. When E.F. was a kindergartner, her parents, Stacy and…
The Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education was created last August by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, House Speaker Clifford Rosenberger and former Senate President Keith Faber with the goal of studying drug use prevention education in Ohio schools.
As a result of that charge, on Feb. 10, the Ohio Attorney General (OAG) released the…
Governor Kasich’s biennial budget for FY 2018-19 was introduced on Wednesday as House Bill 49. The full text—all 3512 pages of it—is available here.
There has already been a lot of discussion about the provisions in the bill that are of interest to school districts and educational service centers. But for those who would like to see the specific proposed language on some key topics, here are the line numbers in the current bill:
…Earlier this week, the National School Boards Association issued a publication entitled “Data Security for Schools: A Legal and Policy Guide for School Boards.” The guide offers school boards information to help them ensure that their districts have sound policies and practices in place to protect all the data created, collected and stored as part of school operations and to respond appropriately in the event of a data breach.
The guide addresses the…
OSBA’s legal assistance fund (LAF) supports school districts that are defending legal challenges with the potential to affect public schools statewide. Earlier this month, the LAF board of trustees voted to approve an amicus brief in support of the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC) in the case Delaware Joint Vocational School District v. Testa.
The case involves a Renewal Levy passed in November 2015 by DACC. Ninety-nine percent of DACC’s territory is in Delaware County, while less than 1% falls in Franklin, Marion, Morrow and Union Counties combined (DACC Territory). Like DACC,…
