Ability of School Employees to Carry Weapons Affected by Ohio Supreme Court Decision
The Gabbard decision was announced on June 23, 2021 by the Ohio Supreme Court. (Gabbard v. Madison Local Sch. Dist. Bd. Of Edn., Slip Op. No 2021-Ohio-2067) After a 2016 school shooting in the district in which a student emptied a gun in school injuring several...
Regulations help explain use of ESSER and GEER funds
ESSER/GEER guidance highlights In late May, The U.S. Department of Education released guidance to states and school districts about the use of the multiple federal funds authorized for pandemic response and relief. A review of this guidance clarifies some questions...
SCOTUS Affirms that Schools May Regulate Off Campus Speech – Sometimes…
In a lengthy decision, the Supreme Court of the United States found that a Pennsylvania High School overstepped when it suspended a student from the cheerleading squad for using social media to criticize her exclusion from a spot on the varsity team and a private...
Court Finds in Favor of Professor Who Refuses to Utilize Student’s Preferred Gender Pronouns
This case arose because a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, Ohio) refused to abide by the University’s policy requiring that he refer students with pronouns corresponding to their gender identity. The professor is a devout Christian whose...
School Funding Reform at the Center of Competing State Budget Plans
In early February, the Ohio House introduced HB 1. This bill, often referred to as the Cupp-Patterson Plan, proposes a significant overhaul of the State’s school funding system. Chief among its objectives is developing a per-pupil funding amount that reflects actual...
BWC Retaliation Case
Creveling v. Lakepark Industries, Inc., 2021-Ohio-764 The Sixth Appellate District Court of Appeals has rendered a decision denying an employee’s claims of workers’ compensation retaliation and disability discrimination, among some other related claims. The employee...
Ohio Court Denies Temporary Restraining Order to Halt Return to In-Person Instruction
Earlier this month, a judge in Hamilton County sided with the Board of Education of the Cincinnati Public School District (“Board”) when she denied the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers’ (“Union”) motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction...
Can schools discipline students for offensive social media posts? The U.S. Supreme Court will decide in B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District
Written by: Liz Hudson The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a First Amendment case about student social media use related to extracurricular activities. In June, 2020, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of a student...
Ohio Court Upholds Picketing at Homes and Places of Employment of Public Officials
The Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Appellate District recently addressed a dispute between the Portage County Educators Association for Developmental Disabilities-Unit B, OEA/NEA and the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities. During a labor...
Prepare for Increased Property Valuation Challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives and businesses in ways we never envisioned. The real estate market has certainly not been spared. Office space, hotels, restaurants and retail establishments have been particularly hard hit. Demand for office space is...
New Federal Guidance from OSEP: a COVID-19 Q&A
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) published a new COVID-19 Q&A on September 28, 2020 (OSEP QA 20-01). While OSEP explicitly cautions that the Q&A “is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing...
Injunction Seeking to Prevent Implementation of Title IX Regulations Denied
The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York recently denied a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent new Title IX regulations from becoming effective on August 14, 2020. In general, Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in...
Court Denies Unemployment Benefits to Striking Employees
In somewhat of a novelty decision, the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Ohio has upheld a trial court decision affirming the denial of unemployment benefits to 51 non-teaching employees who went on strike after OAPSE and the Board of Education were unable to reach...
Schwendeman v. Marietta City Schools
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently ruled in favor of a school district when an employee brought disability discrimination and retaliation claims after he was terminated for working for the local police department while being...
U.S. Supreme Court: Title VII Prohibits Termination Based on Sexual Orientation
On June 15, 2020, in the consolidated matters of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Altitude Express v. Zarda, and R.G.& G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, et al, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that an employer who fires an individual...
Tenth Appellate District: Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation practitioners and school benefits employees alike know that temporary total disability, and particularly the concept of voluntary abandonment of employment, are difficult areas of Workers’ Compensation law in Ohio. The Tenth Appellate District...
UPDATE: Sixth Circuit Finds a Constitutional Right to a Basic Minimum Education
On May 6, 2020, we reported to you that a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision holding that there is a fundamental right to a “basic minimum education” that is potentially violated when the state fails to provide adequate public...
Ensuring Graduation Ceremonies Are Accessible to All Viewers
In light of ongoing bans on mass gatherings, many school districts are moving to a graduation ceremony plan that involves a video or other online elements (e.g. video, PowerPoint, etc.). While virtual commencements may be almost unheard of prior to this spring, there...
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds School District Takeover Law
On May 13, 2020, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld House Bill (HB) 70, which was passed in 2015 by the 131st General Assembly. HB 70 is a school takeover bill that gave sweeping powers to an appointed CEO in districts that struggled to meet overall state report card...
Sixth Circuit Finds a Constitutional Right to a Basic Minimum Education
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a 2-1 decision holding that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause protects a fundamental right to a "basic minimum education" that is potentially violated when the state fails to provide...
Revised Orders Issued by the Ohio Department of Health Director
On April 30th, 2020, the Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton, issued two revised orders that will impact school operations at least in the short term. These orders will cover school operations through June 30th at a minimum. It’s a wrap - concluding...