The Legal Ledger

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:

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:

Candidates required to file a post-general election campaign finance report must do so by December 11.  You can find the reporting forms on the Secretary of State’s website.

Attorneys can earn 5.0 CLE credits at the School Law Workshop presented by the Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys on Tuesday, Nov. 10.  The workshop will take place in Rooms C 210-212.  Sessions include:

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) released a resource guide to help school districts better support undocumented youth. According to DOE, the aim of the guide is to help educators and school staff "support the academic success of undocumented youth, to debunk misconceptions by clarifying the legal rights of undocumented students as well as sharing helpful information about financial aid options open to undocumented students."

Among the many provisions impacting school districts in the biennium budget (HB 64) that took effect on September 29, 2015 was a significant change to the property disposal process for school districts. 

The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled on the Stewart v. Lockland case (Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-3839), which is a positive decision for school districts. In its decision, the court upheld the lower court’s decision that Ohio’s Open Meetings Act did not require the district to hold a public pretermintaion hearing for Adam Stewart. 

The Ohio Supreme Court issued an important opinion yesterday in a case stemming from ongoing litigation between 10 Cleveland community (charter) schools and their operator White Hat Management (“White Hat”). The case, Hope Academy Broadway Campus v. White Hat Mgt., LLC, centers around who owns the personal property that was purchased with public funds, but used by White Hat in the schools’ daily operations.

May a teacher who is a family member of the superintendent be employed by the school district?

Yes. Under Ohio Revised Code Section (RC) 3319.07, an individual that is designated by the board of education may nominate a teacher to be employed by the school district if the superintendent’s nomination of the individual would violate RC 2921.42. This is an exception to the law, which normally requires a nomination by the superintendent for a teacher to be employed by the district.

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.