This has been another active week in the world of school law. Please see below for a quick recap of some of the noteworthy school law news that occurred this week.

  • Census data delays. The U.S. Census Bureau announced on Feb. 12 that it will delay the delivery of census data to all states until Sept. 30. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced this week he has filed a federal lawsuit to compel the Bureau to release census data by the statutory deadline of March 31. OSBA will monitor the lawsuit and the impact delays may have on the requirement that certain ESCs redistrict their territories within 90 days after the official announcement of the federal decennial census.
     
  • Extended learning plans. ODE pushed out additional FAQs regarding extended learning plans. The “Frequently Asked Questions Part Two” discusses a district’s ability to submit their existing plans, provides optional templates for districts and schools to use to create plans, and includes information about ODE’s preference for accessing the plans.
     
  • Ohio Ethics Commission. The Ohio Ethics Commission has released an outline of the Ethics Law for officials and employees who work for or serve public school districts in Ohio.
     
  • Statewide assessments. The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) sent a letter to the chief state school officers this week that provided guidance on federal assessments. The letter indicated that USDOE will not invite state requests for “blanket waivers of assessments,” but will provide certain flexibilities to states in how they administered the tests. USDOE also told states that it will allow them to seek waivers from federal requirements for school accountability for the 2020-21 school year.
Posted by Sara C. Clark on 2/26/2021