Earlier this week, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) made additional materials on education of students in foster care available on its website.  The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires new guidelines and resources to ensure that students in foster care have improved educational outcomes.  The purpose of the guidelines is to remove educational barriers faced by students in foster care, such as traumatization, high mobility, and undiagnosed behavioral and health conditions. 

Earlier this year, the OSBA Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) was asked to support the Tolles Career and Technical School Board of Education.  The LAF board of trustees voted to write an amicus brief on behalf of the board and to provide assistance with the cost of the litigation.  On November 21, the 12^th Appellate District Court decided in favor of the board of education. 

On Nov. 1, the Ohio Department of Commerce (ODC) released its draft version of the medical marijuana cultivator rules. The rules are available on the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP) website: medicalmarijuana.ohio.gov/rules.

This week's blog post focuses on three tidbits of educational news involving Ohio’s truancy laws, the new reading tests required for some teaching licenses, and a policy brief on the educational use of technology for young children. 

Senate education committee to focus on truancy

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from a Virginia school board seeking to prevent a high school student from using the boys' bathroom. In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit gave deference to the federal government's position that Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination "on the basis of sex" in public schools, protects the rights of transgender students to use school bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

The Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) released an updated version of Ohio’s System of General Supervision on Oct. 13. Federal law requires states to develop systems of general supervision to monitor school district implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004.

On October 13, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released evaluations of sponsors of community schools in Ohio, covering the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.  The evaluation framework was revamped in December 2015 following passage of HB 2, which reformed Ohio’s community school system. 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) has issued a guidance video concerning the use of email in schools and student data privacy. In the short video, the Department briefly explains the protections afforded student personally identifiable information (PII) by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and asks school employees to evaluate the risks associated with using email as a convenient means of transmitting such sensitive information.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) makes several changes to district responsibilities, including the addition of new requirements for students in foster care. With the Dec. 10 deadline for implementation quickly approaching, school districts should be having important conversations to ensure appropriate systems are in place to meet the new requirements.

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.