2024 Wage Settlement Report: A Look at Schools Wage Increases
School Employee Average Wage Increase Overall: The Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB) released the annual wage settlement report for 2024 on March 1, 2025. The report shows wages increased more in 2024 than in any other year since 2015, nearly across the...
U.S. Department of Education Releases FAQ on February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter Regarding Ending Racial Preferences, Demands that States and Public Schools Certify Compliance
The U.S. Department of Education (the "Department") has mandated that all Local Education Agencies (LEAs), which include public school districts, provide certification of their compliance with certain legal obligations described in an April 3rd document titled...
Career Tech Corner: Private Business Partnerships and Their Potential Impact on Students
Career-technical education is a vital part of Ohio’s system of public education for students in grades seven through twelve. As public education entities that receive federal funds, CTCs are prohibited from discriminating against their students on the basis of a...
U.S. Department of Education Gives Until February 28 to Comply with New Federal Anti-Discrimination Orders of Risk Loss of Funding
The U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter (“Letter”) on February 14, 2025, detailing the federal government’s order for schools to “cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring,...
Special Education Update: Autism and Jon Peterson Scholarships Will Not Fund Home-Education After Age 18
According to a recent email from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW), as of July 1, 2025, students who are home-educated using either the Autism or Jon Peterson scholarships will no longer qualify for the scholarships following the year during...
HB8 “Parents’ Bill of Rights”: What You Need to Know
Governor DeWine signed House Bill 8 on January 8, 2025, and the law goes into effect on April 9, 2025. This bill, known as the “Parents' Bill of Rights” not only adds to the decisions that parents can make regarding their children’s education but also contains new...
Special Education Update: Abrupt Changes to Ohio’s New Procedural Safeguards Rule Leave Educational Agencies in a Strange Place
On the spur of the moment, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (“ODEW”) refiled it’s new Ohio Operating Standards rule governing procedural safeguards. This meteoric move modifies the effective date from July 1, 2025 to January 24, 2025. The changes have...
Navigating SB 29: What’s New for Educators Following a Series of Lame Duck Amendments
Senate Bill 29 has caused its fair share of headaches since it went into effect in October. Passing out some much-needed proverbial ibuprofen, the state legislature passed an amendment that took effect immediately on December 9, 2024. The amendments included numerous...
Social Security Fairness Act Brings Relief to Millions of Public Sector Workers
In late December Congress passed, and on January 5 President Biden signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82). This is the first significant expansion of Social Security benefits in over 20 years. This landmark legislation repeals two long-standing...
Career Tech Corner: InnovateOhio Develops “AI Toolkit” for Educators, Parents and School Leaders
InnovateOhio has developed the "AI Toolkit: Guidance and Resources to Advance AI Readiness in Ohio’s Schools," which aims to help educators, parents, and school leaders prepare students for a world shaped by artificial intelligence (AI). The toolkit offers practical...
On the Call: Revocation of Consent
In this episode, Jeremy and Erin cover the complexities of revocation of consent under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). They discuss what happens when parents choose to revoke consent for special education services, using a recent Missouri case...
On the Call: Autism Eligibility
A medical diagnosis can be one piece of the puzzle in special education. In this episode, Jeremy and Erin dive into autism eligibility under the IDEA, examining a case from North Carolina where a school district defended its decision to deny special education services...
Career Tech Corner: Updates to Special Education Procedural Safeguards Expected to Affect Joint Vocational Schools, other Educational Agencies
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (“ODEW”) recently adopted changes to the procedural safeguard rules in the Ohio Operating Standards for the Education of Students with Disabilities (“Operating Standards”). These changes, which are likely to take effect...
New OCR Guidance on Artificial Intelligence
The United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued a resource providing examples of how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in educational or security software could result in discrimination on the basis of disability, race, or...
Federal Judge Blocks FLSA Final Rule
A new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Rule took effect July 1, 2024, which significantly increased the salary minimum that non-teaching, salaried supervisors and administrators must make to be considered exempt from overtime pay. On November 15, 2024, a judge in...
Lawmakers Gear Up for Busy Lame Duck Period
A little over a week has passed since the election, and the Ohio Senate has passed its first piece of legislation affecting Ohio schools. On Wednesday, November 13th the chamber voted to approve SB 104, also known as the “Protect All Students Act” along party lines....
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: Ensuring Proper Diploma Requirements Are Met
It may only be November, but it is never too early to start planning for graduation. As we begin looking ahead to the big day, let us revisit a law that impacts our obligation to our students as they reach this major milestone in their academic journey. O.R.C....
Special Education Update: Is Average Enough? Fourth Circuit Rules That a Student with ADHD and Dyslexia is not Eligible for Special Education Under the IDEA Based on Academic Performance
G.M. v. Barnes, 114 F.4th 323 (4th Cir. 2024). On September 4, 2024, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that a second-grade student with dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was not eligible for special education...
Ohio Appellate Court Endorses Procedure for Use of Consent Agendas
Since at least 2021, one Ohio litigant has questioned the propriety of consent agendas in public meetings. In State ex rel. Ames v. Portage Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 165 Ohio St.3d 292, the Supreme Court of Ohio recognized the use of consent agendas does not appear to be...
From Sidelines to Headlines: School Volunteers
O.R.C. Section 2950.035: Unlawful work with or supervision of minors Districts routinely rely on volunteer community members to help run games, and scoreboards, substitute in for missing referees, and operate concession stands for school sporting events. Many of these...
Special Education Update: 6th Circuit Rules Student Not Entitled to Stay Put Injunction
“Stay put” is a procedural safeguard that provides that a student will remain in the “then-current” educational placement while a due process complaint is pending. In a recently decided case, parents challenged a proposed IEP in 2023 for their student who was...