The Ohio House Education Committee has unveiled sweeping changes to Substitute Senate Bill 229 with regard to teacher and principal evaluations. The original version of SB 229, which passed the Senate unanimously on December 4th, 2013, modified frequency and composition of teacher evaluations and reduced some of the burden on school administrators. The new version […]
Ohio Legislature Considers Flurry of Bills in an Attempt to Ease Burden of Harsh Winter on Schools
The Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate are both considering bills to ease the burden on Ohio school districts that have taken an unusual number of calamity days this school year due to harsh winter conditions. One of the pending bills, House Bill 416, was proposed on January 28th. It would grant four additional […]
ODE Temporarily Permits Submission of Online Make-up Plans for 2013-2014
The Ohio Department of Education recently announced that it will temporarily lift the August 1st deadline for submission of online calamity day make-up plans to assist school districts that have experienced a high number of weather-related closings this school year. Online make-up plans, commonly referred to as “blizzard bag” plans, allow schools to make up […]
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Termination of Religious Science Teacher For Insubordination
On November 19, 2013, the Ohio Supreme Court concluded that, pursuant to R.C. 3319.16, acts of insubordination constitute “good and just cause” to terminate a teacher’s contract as long as the underlying rules or directives violated were themselves reasonable and valid. John Freshwater was an eighth grade science teacher at the Mount Vernon City […]
Time’s Up! Ohio’s Public Schools Must Begin to Implement New Requirements of Budget Bill
On June 30th of this year, Ohio’s governor signed House Bill 59. Many of the non-financial provisions of HB 59 became effective on September 29th, which effectively signaled the beginning of major changes to how public schools operate in the state. A few of the more significant legislative mandates include expanded participation for extracurricular activities, […]
ODE Issues Third Grade Reading Guarantee Guidance
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) recently published additional guidance to clarify certain provisions of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. ODE’s guidance addresses minimum achievement levels for promotion to fourth grade, summer and midyear promotion of students to the fourth grade, and a description of the Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA) alternatives. Promotion Requirements According to […]
Court Held Kentucky District Conducted Unlawful Search of Student Cell Phone
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati recently ruled that administrators at a Kentucky school district conducted an unlawful search of a student’s cell phone. The student, who was enrolled as an out-of-district student in the Owensboro Public School District, was using his cell phone during class in violation of school rules. His teacher saw the phone, confiscated it, and turned the phone over […]
Pension Reform Legislation Makes Significant Changes to SERS and STRS
On September 26, the Ohio General Assembly enacted sweeping public pension reform legislation. The legislation consisted of a package of five bills, including Senate bills 341 and 342, affecting the School Employees Retirement System (SERS) and the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). Both bills will become effective on January 7, 2013. The most significant changes […]
ODE Begins Accepting Applications for Third Grade Reading Guarantee Grants
On October 29, the Ohio Department of Education began accepting applications for the Early Literacy and Reading Readiness competitive grant program. As part of the framework known as the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, $13 million in grants is available to schools to help early elementary students gain the necessary reading fundamentals by the end of […]
Appeals Court Upholds Discipline of Online Student Speech
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the suspension of two students at a Missouri school for creating and maintaining a racist and sexist blog. The issue involved whether the district had violated the students’ First Amendment free speech rights by disciplining them for off-campus speech. The blog had been created off school property and […]