The Legal Ledger

The OSBA legal division would like to invite you to join us for our annual Special Education Law Workshop on Friday, March 24, 2023. As in previous years, this event features engaging speakers on a variety of timely and relevant special education topics designed to keep professionals in the field up to date on this ever-changing area of law. The workshop is tailored to special education personnel as well as attorneys, and it has been approved for 5.5 hours of CLE credit.

This Legal Ledger post is a follow-up on previous recent posts, with new or expanded resources and a reminder of an upcoming deadline for districts.

OSBA’s legal division publishes many resources that are designed to assist board members and answer many of the frequently asked questions the division receives. These publications are reviewed and updated regularly. Today’s blog post highlights some of our more recently updated publications.

The Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill (HB) 554 in the final days of the last General Assembly. Among other things, the bill changed the definition of “child with a disability” under Ohio law, increasing the maximum age of students who are eligible for services under that category.

Many school districts use their annual organizational meeting as a time to make board committee appointments. As school boards create new committees or invite new members to serve on these committees, it’s a good time to review the applicability of the Open Meetings Act to committees.

January is a time when many boards of education take stock of the management of their school districts. It is organizational meeting season, and often there are new members joining the board’s ranks. We at OSBA also receive many calls this time of year about what steps boards must take if they want to renew or non-renew a superintendent’s contract and when these steps must be taken.

Late in December, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued an opinion providing important clarity to public bodies, including school boards, facing claims that they have violated Ohio’s Open Meeting Act (OMA). The case, Ames v. Rootstown Twp. Bd.

In June, Gov.

It is hard to believe, but the holiday season is here, and we are quickly approaching the end of 2022. The holiday break is around the corner, the Buckeyes are in the College Football Playoff, and we’re about to ring in 2023. For boards of education, though, there are important deadlines and other items to keep in mind as we approach January despite the festivities of the season.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued an opinion in Hicks v. Clermont County Board of Commissioners, in which a public body was sued for violations of the Open Meetings Act (OMA). The Supreme Court determined that, when alleging a violation of the OMA, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving the violation.