The Legal Ledger

Ohio Supreme Court expounds on statutory damages, attorneys fees and costs in post-HB 9 public records mandamus case. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on a recent public records case against a police department, and the ruling has implications for all public entities. The case, State ex rel. Doe v. Smith, 123 Ohio St.3d 44, concerned the availability of a sealed juvenile record. A citizen had made a public records request in late November 2007 for records to the Pierce Township Police Dept.

State ex rel. Perrea v. Cincinnati Pub. Sch., Ohio St.3d , 2009-Ohio-4762 Perrea, a teacher at Hughes High School in the Cincinnati Public School District (CPS), filed repeated public records requests seeking copies of the standardized tests that are administered to all of the districts ninth grade students at the end of each semester. Perrea stated that he was concerned about the design, implementation and scoring of the examinations, which were developed by WestEd at a cost of $270,000, and claimed that he did not intend to use the copies for any commercial purpose.

In June 2008, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Board of Directors approved a recommendation that coaches in Ohio be required to take the National Federation of State High School Associations Fundamentals of Coaching course. All interscholastic coaches in grades 7-12, whether certified to teach or not, paid or volunteer, are required to take the course as a one-time fulfillment. All coaches without a current pupil activity permit are required to complete the course by January 1, 2010.

Ohio Revised Code Section (RC) 3319.15 sets out the procedure a teacher seeking to cancel his or her contract with the board must follow. The statute states that teachers, as well as superintendents and other administrators, may terminate their contracts by providing five days written notice to the employing board. However, the law prohibits teachers from terminating contracts after July 10 of any school year without the consent of the board.

The Supreme Court held today that a strip search of a teenager violated the 4th Amendment. See coverage from the New York Times for details on Safford v. Redding. The Court also issued an opinion in the legal battle that started in 1988 over Arizona's funding of English language education.

The United States Supreme Court released a 6-3 opinion yesterday in an IDEA case,Forest Grove School Dist. v. T.A.. In a decision that is troublesome for public school districts, the Supreme Court found in favor of the student, holding that courts may order reimbursement for a unilateral private school placement where the student has not previously received special education services from a public school district.

The State Board of Education has filed new draft rehabilitation rules with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR). This act begins the formal rule-making process and triggers a public hearing before the State Board. The hearing on these rules is June 18 at 11:00am.

So-called "jammers" block the signals of telecommunications devices so that they do not function in certain areas. Given the proliferation of cell phones in schools, many educators would love to have an "off" switch they could flip in classrooms or during testing periods. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) takes the position that the use of jammers violates the Communication Act of 1934. Its Web site states:

Ohios minimum wage increased to $7.30 on January 1, 2009. The increase applies to all employers that gross more than $267,000 per year, a category within which most, if not all Ohio public schools fall. Exempted from the increase are 14 and 15-year-old employees, who will continue to receive the federal minimum wage of $6.55 through July 24, 2009, at which time the federal rate will increase to $7.25 per hour. Also exempted are tipped employees, who receive $3.65 per hour, before tips. For more information, please contact the OSBA Legal Division.

The Ohio Supreme Court released an important decision in favor of Ohio school districts yesterday._ The case, Doe v. Marlington (2009), 2009-Ohio-1360, arose out of a tragic incident in which a young girl with special needs was sexually assaulted on the school bus by another student.