U.S. DOE’s Office for Civil Rights Enters the Fray by Initiating Discrimination Investigations Against States with Mask Prohibitions On Monday, August 30, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations into five states that prohibit schools from setting universal mask mandates. Letters were sent to the chief state school officers of […]
Anonymous Reporting Systems Required for 2021-22 School Year in All Ohio Districts
Starting this year, school districts must either register with the Department of Public Safety’s free Safer Ohio School Tip Line or enter into an agreement with another anonymous reporting program selected by the district that allows individuals to report threats to student safety. The selected reporting system must meet all of the following […]
School Mask Mandate Updates
U.S. DOE’s Office for Civil Rights Enters the Fray by Initiating Discrimination Investigations Against States with Mask Prohibitions On Monday, August 30, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations into five states that prohibit schools from setting universal mask mandates. Letters were sent to the chief state school officers of […]
Revised Orders Issued by the Ohio Department of Health Director
On April 30th, 2020, the Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton, issued two revised orders that will impact school operations at least in the short term. These orders will cover school operations through June 30th at a minimum. It’s a wrap – concluding school operations for 2019-2020. The first order directs schools to […]
COVID-19 Update: School Board Meetings During a Pandemic
UPDATED APRIL 1, 2020 On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared that COVID-19, a novel coronavirus, has become a pandemic. We anticipate that this virus will pose many challenges to school districts and communities in the coming weeks and months. It is important for public school district boards of education to understand […]
UPDATE – Legislators Grapple with EdChoice Program Expansion Amendments
Efforts to curb the impact of EdChoice accelerated towards the end of January as legislators in the Senate and House searched for ways to reduce the negative financial impact that the program is anticipated to have on Ohio’s public schools starting next year. Legislators and the governor approved language in last year’s budget bill which […]
Ennis Britton is Proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the OSBA Capital Conference!
Ennis Britton is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the 2019 Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference. This means you will see our team of attorneys and firm logo in a lot of places! The firm is the exclusive sponsor of the OSBA Conference App, which will be activated this month. The conference app […]
Ennis Britton Welcomes New Attorney to the Team!
Ennis Britton is excited to announce that attorney Robert J. McBride has joined our team! Bob has dedicated his practice to representing public school districts and private sector clients in the areas of employment law, civil rights defense, board leadership, labor relations, general civil litigation and construction law. His experience includes negotiating collective bargaining agreements […]
Court Sides with District in Teacher Termination and Vacates Back Pay
The Sixth District Court of Appeals delivered a win to school districts recently when it reversed a lower court’s decision ordering the Perkins Local School District to reinstate a former teacher who had been terminated with an award of $367,202.52 in lost wages and benefits. The case was brought by former teacher and coach Tracey […]
The Licensure Code of Conduct for Ohio Educators
The Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators (“Code”), which was first adopted in 2008, outlines the framework for professional conduct for individuals who have a license or permit issued by the State Board of Education. On February 13, 2019, the Ohio Department of Education (“ODE”) released a revised draft of the Code. The […]