Question of the Month: Can a school board member sell anything to the district?

For 2024, the OSBA legal division has decided to bring back a popular blog feature: question of the month. We will be focusing on questions that apply to many school board members and come up frequently in phone calls and presentations.  

2024's first question of the month is: Can a school board member sell anything to the district? There are a couple of laws that apply to this question.  

Legal Ledger Sidebar: Gifts and other things of value

In this Legal Ledger Sidebar, OSBA attorneys Jennifer and John discuss the Ohio Ethics Law restrictions on gifts, entertainment and other things of value. The conversation covers the key aspects of the laws as they apply to school board members and school employees. 

Can a school district require a Social Security number to enroll a new student?

With the end of summer comes falling leaves, football, and OSBA’s legal hotline abuzz with enrollment questions throughout the state.  One of those questions:  our school district requests a student’s social security number (SSN) to enroll students.  What do we do if the parent doesn’t provide one?

Under the Privacy Act of 1974, a school district may not prevent a student from enrollment for failure to provide their SSN or proof the student has an SSN.