A Closer Look at “Education Deregulation” in Senate Bill 3
What happened during the lame duck session? By now, you know the legislative session has concluded. Sub. SB 3, which became a Christmas tree bill, contained a plethora of miscellaneous education provisions. The bill has been signed and will become effective mid-March....
Federal Court Blocks New FLSA Overtime Rule
A federal judge in Texas has granted a nationwide temporary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by 21 states, including Ohio, to challenge the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime rule. The court agreed with the plaintiff states that the new rule could...
2018 Requirements for High School Diploma
Beginning with the class of 2018, Ohio’s graduation requirements will change. In addition to the state’s academic curriculum requirements, which have not changed, students must fulfill an additional requirement to earn their high school diploma. Students have three...
OCR Says Websites Lack 504/ADA Accommodations
Over the past year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has shown an increased focus on public school district websites. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require that public...
Court Weighs School’s Regulation of Off-Campus Speech
A school district’s authority to discipline a student for off-campus speech is an increasingly relevant concern today for public schools. Inappropriate or offensive speech can cause lasting injury to victims and can trigger significant community backlash and unrest....
Impacts of Updated Guidance Concerning Homeless Students from the U.S. Department of Education
In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorized the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youths program. Updated guidance was released by the U.S. Department of Education to help school districts understand the amendments to the...
U.S. Supreme Court Issues Order in Transgender Case, But Does It Change Anything?
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination against students on the basis of sex for schools that receive federal funding. More recently, the definition of “sex” discrimination was expanded by federal regulatory agencies. In April 2014, the...
Public Records Update: Legislation and Cases
Laws regarding public records are under scrutiny across the United States, including in Ohio. Advanced technology has brought myriad ways to communicate information to U.S. citizens, who continue to demand increased transparency. Public-records law continues to...
“Coming and Going” Rule Used to Deny Workers’ Compensation Claim
An Ohio court has denied a workers’ compensation claim by an employee who was injured in a traffic accident while traveling to obtain paintbrushes to use at a job site. The employee worked for a waterproofing company applying a special paint to newly constructed homes...
Allegations Lead to Title IX Claim against School District
A U.S. District Court in Massachusetts has allowed a legal claim against city and school administrators for peer-on-peer sexual harassment under Title IX. Several of the plaintiff’s other claims were dismissed, but the Title IX harassment claim was allowed to proceed....
Proposed Bill Aims to Reform Truancy Policy
Efforts to reform truancy policy in Ohio have resulted in House Bill 410, which would eliminate suspension or expulsion of students as a punishment for excessive absence. The bill, which was passed in the House and now awaits action in the Senate Education Committee,...
Ohio Senate Approves Bill to Suspend Property Tax Increases
The Ohio Senate has approved a bill that would suspend property tax increases for commercial and industrial developments until a certificate of occupancy is granted. Any increase in the taxable value of properties that are being newly developed or redeveloped would...
Overtime Pay Threshold Increased to Include Millions More Workers
Effective December 1, 2016, "white collar" salaried employees not otherwise exempted from the overtime rules in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be eligible for overtime pay if their annual salary is less than $47,476. President Obama asked the Department of...
What’s inside the new door barricade device rules
The Ohio Board of Building Standards has finalized the door barricade device rules mandated by HB 64. Found in the Ohio Building Code, the rules address active shooter drills, emergency situations, and establishes conditions for the use of the temporary locking...
Proposed Legislation to Address Student Threats of Violence
Senate Bill 297 was proposed by Senator Jim Hughes on March 21, 2016. This Bill seeks to amend Ohio’s student discipline statutes to address threats of violence made by students. The proposed Bill would allow a board of education to adopt a resolution to permit a...
Bill would address concerns about weighted grades, College Credit Plus
Parents and students around Ohio are complaining about what they see as an inequity involving college credit plus (CCP) courses. In February, a group of high school students testified in front of the General Assembly that they believed the CCP rule that treats all...
Changes to Medicaid in Schools Plan Coming August 1, 2016
On January 27, 2016, the Director of the Department of Medicaid and ODE’s Director of the Office for Exceptional Children hosted a webinar that detailed the Medicaid billing changes coming to school districts as a result of changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA)...
ODE Issues Guidance for Serving Students in Corrections Facilities and Juvenile Detention Centers
On February 3, 2016, the Office for Exceptional Children issued guidance to school districts whose students with disabilities are, or may be, confined to community corrections facilities or juvenile detention centers. Generally, the law provides that the school...
Maryland School District Sued for Promoting Islam
The Thomas Moore Law Center, on behalf of John and Melissa Wood and their minor daughter, filed suit against the Charles County Public School District Board of Education and the High School Principal and Vice-Principal alleging that the La Plata High School “promoted...
Ohio Supreme Court to Decide Case on Release of Student Directory Information
On January 26th, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case to determine whether a public school district may implement a more restrictive policy on release of student directory information by requiring that parents "opt in" before the information...
Court of Claims Upholds Contractor Claim Procedures of Construction Contract
The University of Toledo undertook a construction project consisting of an addition connecting two existing portions of the University's hospital and a remodel of existing hospital space. The University hired an electrical contractor for the electrical trades work on...