The OSBA legal assistance fund (LAF) was established in 1976. The fund supports school districts that are defending legal challenges with the potential to affect public schools statewide. Support may come in the form of legal research, amicus curiae briefs, financial assistance and any other assistance as may be approved by the trustees. LAF is managed by a three-member board of trustees made up of OSBA’s president, president-elect and executive director.
In many cases, the fund provides assistance in the form of an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court” brief. An amicus brief explains to the court why the school district should win its case and how the court’s decision will affect other Ohio school districts. School attorneys from across the state are selected by LAF trustees to write briefs on behalf of the trust.
Financial assistance also may be provided to help districts minimize the financial hardship of costly litigation to individual boards. Financial assistance is provided to districts as a percentage of the total cost of litigation or other matter of controversy, incurred by the board. The trust is prohibited from incurring the total cost of litigation in any case in which assistance is provided.
Requesting assistance
The trustees may consider any legal dispute that pertains to the classification, organization, regulation, maintenance, operation, financing and management of school districts in the state of Ohio. However, the trust is prohibited from participating in disputes between school districts and disputes between individual school board members.
To initiate a request, a school board must adopt a resolution requesting assistance from the fund and complete an application for assistance. A sample resolution and the application may be found on OSBA’s website. The application requests background information about the case, including details about the factual situation, the procedural history and current status of the case, and information about why the case would be proper for LAF consideration. Frequently, the application is completed by the board in consultation with their board attorney.
Once OSBA receives the application and resolution, the trustees will evaluate the application to determine whether the issues and litigation involved meet the criteria for assistance under the trust.
OSBA hopes that through LAF’s efforts, courts and the community at large will gain a better understanding of how these fundamental issues affect education in our state. If you have questions about LAF or would like to request assistance, please contact OSBA’s division of legal services.