The U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights found that an Illinois district discriminated against a transgender student by failing to offer her the same facility access as other female students. Each of the district’s five high schools have policies in place that allow transgender students to both use the restroom of their identified […]
State Board Adopts Guidance Counselor Standards
House Bill 64 directed the State Board of Education to develop standards for the evaluation of school guidance counselors. Just last week, the Ohio Standards for School Counselors were approved by the State Board. The standards-based framework for counselor evaluations must still be developed by the State Board of Education by May 31, 2016.By September […]
Ohio Attorney General Declares Deputy Sheriff May Serve on Board of Education
The Ohio Attorney General’s office recently issued an opinion that concluded a deputy sheriff who is employed in classified service may simultaneously serve as a member of a city or local school district board of education with a few limitations. The opinion was released on October 27th, 2015. The question of law turned on an interpretation of […]
New Requirements for Fire and Safety Drills for Ohio Schools
As building principals finalize this school year and begin to plan out their required drills for the 2015-2016 school year, they should make note of recent changes to the number and type of drills that are now required under state law. House Bill 178, which codified recent changes, passed both houses of the legislature and […]
State Board of Education Approves Vote to Eliminate ‘5 of 8’ Rule
On April 13th, 2015, the State Board of Education voted to amend a rule which previously mandated that school districts employ a minimum number of elementary art, music and physical education teachers, as well as a minimum number of nurses, library media specialists, social workers and visiting teachers. The standard was commonly referred to as […]
USDHHS Withdraws Guidance on Free Care Policy
USDHHS Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently withdrew its prior guidance on the “free care” policy as expressed in the School-Based Administrative Claiming Guide. Under CMS’s new guidance, Medicaid reimbursement is available for covered services under the approved state plan regardless of whether there is any charge for the services to the beneficiary or […]
ODE Guidance Clarifies New Rules on Annualized FTE
As districts transition to the new minimum school year reporting system, the Ohio Department of Education (“ODE”) recently released guidance about how it will allocate funding for students that attend school for less than a full day. In July of 2013, House Bill 59 became effective and mandated that the state funding formula for schools […]
Deadline for Teachers to Terminate Employment Contracts Passed on July 10th
As July comes to a close, schools across Ohio have begun to gear up for another school year. Yet just when you think you have put the chaos of staffing buildings and assigning students behind you, inevitably a teacher who would be very hard to replace at this juncture approaches the district and provides notice […]
U.S. Supreme Court Supports Employer’s Refusal to Cover Costs of Certain Contraceptives
The U.S. Supreme Court issued yet another precedent-setting decision this week for employers. In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 573 U.S. _____ (June 30, 2104), the Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that regulations which require employers to provide health insurance coverage for certain types of contraceptive drugs violate the religious rights of […]
State Legislators Tweak Teacher Evaluations . . . Again!
Ohio legislators have once again modified the Ohio teacher evaluation system this month through passage of House Bill 362. The bill, which still awaits the Governor’s signature, reduces the frequency of evaluations for certain teachers and also creates an optional alternative evaluation framework that districts may elect to use as early as the 2014-2015 school year. […]