The Legal Ledger

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. There also is a link on that page to…

This morning, the Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments in School Choice Ohio Inc. v. Cincinnati Public School District and Springfield City School District. School Choice Ohio (SCO) filed the lawsuit after the Springfield City School District denied SCO’s request for student names and addresses. In 2013, Springfield adopted a policy that stopped student names, addresses, phone numbers and other identifying data from being designated as “directory information” under the Family Education Rights and Privacy…

In December, the General Assembly enacted the “ban the box” law, House Bill (H.B.) 56.  The bill creates R.C. 9.73, which prohibits public employers in Ohio from including any questions about a person’s criminal background on employment applications.  School districts should take steps now to ensure compliance with the law when it becomes effective on March 23, 2016. 

While employers will no longer be able to ask about a candidate’s criminal history on employment applications…

OSBA’s legal assistance fund (LAF) supports school districts that are defending legal challenges with the potential to affect public schools statewide. The courts have recently ruled on two LAF cases.

Talawanda City School District Board of Education v. Testa

The first case, Talawanda City School District Board of Education v. Testa, deals with whether school-owned property is exempt from taxation if the property is not being used for school purposes. In the…

Happy New Year! At the beginning of every year, the division of legal services receives questions relating to organizational meeting procedures and the administration of the oath of office. Let’s take a moment to review the basics.

RC 3313.14 requires, city, local, exempted village and joint vocational school (JVS) boards to organize within the first 15 days of January. An educational service center (ESC) governing board has until the end of the month to hold its organizational meeting.

The meeting should be called to order by the president pro tem, and opening ceremonies (…

In our final blog post for 2015, we’re taking a look at the last of the most common conflict-of-interest questions OSBA receives on its hotline: board members who hold more than one public office.  Previous weeks have covered scenarios where:

• the individual currently works for the district,
• the individual has a family member working for the school district, and
• …

This month, we’ve been looking at the most common questions OSBA attorneys receive regarding board member conflicts-of-interest.  Those include:

• the individual currently works for the district,
• the individual has a family member working for the school district,
• the individual is employed by a company that has an active contract with the district (discussed below),…

Through the month of December, we’re looking at the most common scenarios in which an incoming board member may have a conflict of interest.  Last week, we discussed individuals currently working and volunteering for the district (you can read that blog entry here).  This week, we’ll take a look at board members that have family members working for the school district.  In the coming weeks, we’ll look at board members that are employed by or own a company that has an active…

Hundreds of new individuals will begin serving on school boards in Ohio next month.  The legal hotline has received several questions about conflicts of interest for incoming members.  (Remember: OSBA attorneys cannot provide a legal analysis of the specifics for a board member, but we can provide legal information to help you determine whether you should speak with board counsel about a potential conflict.)

While it can arise in many contexts, we most commonly receive the question as one of four basic scenarios:

• the individual currently works for the district…

Since 1977, OSBA’s Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) has provided supportive assistance to boards of education in cases or controversies of statewide significance. Qualifying districts may request and receive:

• financial assistance to pay for a portion of litigation expenses
• an amicus curiae brief to be filed on behalf of the district
• legal research or consultation to assist the district’s attorney

In 2015, LAF provided support in several cases…