Legislature on Summer Recess Passes Bills Before Leaving
Bills with last-minute impacts on education were passed as the Legislature ended its session and left for summer break. No data center legislation was passed, but this topic will likely resurface in the lame-duck session in the fall. The bills passed included many...
Stay Out of the Sand: Court Examines Physical Defects and Tort Liability for Districts
Bossart v. Brecksville-Broadview Hts. City School Dist. On May 21, 2026, Ohio’s Eighth Appellate District reversed a lower court ruling, allowing a lawsuit to proceed against a public school district after a student was injured during a track event while jumping into...
Special Education Update: Section 504 is No Longer a Quiet Corner of Student Services
Recent Civil Rights Data Collection information shows that the percentage of students identified as “Section 504-only” continues to rise nationally and in Ohio. For the 2021–22 school year, the national rate was 3.93%, up from the prior collection year. Ohio followed...
ADA Reminder: Reasonable Accommodation Doesn’t Have to be the Preferred Accommodation
Andrea Tumbleson v. Lakota Local School Dist. Bd. of Educ., Case No. 25-3548 (6th Cir. 2026). On May 13, 2026, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an Ohio school district did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Family and Medical...
Special Education Update: Department of Justice Finds School District Violated Title II of the ADA
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a formal finding on February 26, 2026, concluding that the Special School District of St. Louis County violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act through its use of restraint and seclusion practices. Following...
Sunshine Laws for Subcommittees: Court Clarifies Requirements for Advisory Groups
State ex rel. Zimmerman v. Avon Lake, 2026-Ohio-1090 (March 31, 2026) On March 31, 2026, the Supreme Court of Ohio reaffirmed that committees and subcommittees of a public body are also public bodies under Ohio’s Open Meetings Act, and the City of Avon Lake was...
Ohio Attorney General Weighs in on School Board Member Eligibility for Service as Juvenile Court Probation Officers
Opinion No. 2026-02. The Ohio Attorney General issued its second formal opinion of the year on April 1, 2026, holding that an individual generally cannot serve simultaneously as a member of a school district board of education and a juvenile court probation officer. A...
CTC Corner: Ohio’s Middle School Career-Technical Education Mandate: Legal Considerations and Practical Implications
Ohio’s continued expansion of career-technical education reflects a clear shift toward embedding career readiness throughout the K-12 system. Beginning July 1, 2026, all city, local, and exempted village school districts must provide career-technical education...
EB Attorney Giselle Spencer Recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business: 2026 Notable Women in Law
Ennis Britton Co., L.P.A. is proud to announce that Giselle Spencer has been recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business as a 2026 Notable Women in Law. Each honoree is featured in a special section published by Crain’s, with the complete listing and Giselle’s profile...
Transportation Update: Responding to Transportation Complaints Through TEM System
The ODEW has changed the way it is administering transportation complaints to require districts to respond through an electronic system called TEM (transportation enforcement management). According to the ODEW, when a person submits a complaint about a school district...
Career Tech Centers Set to Lose Millions Following Property Tax Reforms
Property tax reform has been top of mind for legislators for the past few years, and school districts have anxiously followed legislative efforts. There were initial promises from legislators that career technical education programs might be insulated from property...
Overbreadth Argument Overruled: OSU Loses Appeal Over Public Records Request
Schaffer v. Ohio State Univ., 2025-Ohio-5647 The Tenth District Court of Appeals of Ohio ruled against the Ohio State University (OSU), demanding that emails from OSU President Walter Carter be released following a public records request. This decision affirmed a...
Federal Government Ends Its Legal Defense of No DEI Certification Policy
The federal government has withdrawn its appeal of a federal court decision that blocked its attempt to withhold billions of dollars in education funding from schools and states that refused to certify they had no diversity and equity programs. Earlier in 2025, a...
New Legislative Proposals Target School Funding, Pension Pickup and Parental Rights
The legislature was active during this year's end-of-session, which would affect school district finances, retirement system contributions, and parental rights in education. Property tax reform occupied the floor with several bills passing this November. This follows...
Ohio Athletes Score NIL Rights After Court Issued Injunction
Ohio remains one of only six states nationwide that continue to prohibit high school student-athletes from entering into name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements. Jamier Brown, one of the top high school football prospects in the nation, challenged the prohibition...
Innuendos Aren’t Innocent: Sixth Circuit Upholds Dress Ban on Vulgar Messages
D.A. v. Tri County Area Schools, 1:23-cv-00423 (6th Cir. October 14, 2025). The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled against two middle school students who challenged their district’s dress code, upholding the school’s authority to regulate clothing that...
Treasurer Transfer Certification Requirements Under Ohio Law
One of the many changes enacted through the 2025 Budget Bill (HB 96) is an amendment to Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.27, which governs the delivery of funds to the board of education at the expiration of a treasurer’s term. The amendment became effective on...
Special Education Update: U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Affirms Commitment to Special Education Funding for Fiscal Year 2026
The Senate Appropriations Committee (the “Committee”) advanced a funding bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 that recommends a slight increase in funding for the United States Department of Education, and maintains or provides slight increases for other educational funding...
Frequent Flyer Miles Fair Game for Public Officials in Ohio
On August 4, 2025 the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) issued an opinion stating that public officials or employees could use frequent flyer miles and other rewards earned during official business for their own personal use. The entire opinion may be found here: Adv. Op....
Career Tech Corner: Immigration Enforcement Comes for Adult Education Programs
On July 10, 2025 the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced it would end the “subsidization of illegal aliens in career, technical, and adult education programs.” The new Notice of Interpretation applies to all CTE programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and...
Public Records Changes on the Horizon?
State ex rel. Platt v. Montgomery Cty. Bd. of Elections, Slip Opinion No. 2025-Ohio-2079. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in June that some emails were improperly withheld by the Montgomery County Board of Elections (“Board of Elections”) in response to a public records...