Service Animals vs. Pet Allergies – Who Wins?
School districts frequently ask how to balance the rights of a person who brings a service animal onto school grounds against the rights of others. For example, if one child in a classroom is allergic to pet dander, but another child demands to bring her service dog...
Ennis Britton Attorneys Selected to Super Lawyers!
We are very pleased to announce that the highly reputed organization Super Lawyers has selected Ennis Britton shareholder Gary Stedronsky as a Super Lawyer and shareholders Megan Bair, Pamela Leist, and Erin Wessendorf-Wortman as Super Lawyers Rising Stars for 2019!...
Concussion Case Involving Former Athlete Allowed to Proceed in Court
Ennis Britton first reported about this case in the May 2018 issue of our newsletter, School Law Review, as it has implications for school districts and athletic organizations. Since then, this case has continued in court, and the Ohio Supreme Court has now weighed in...
Service Animals in Schools
In October, a flight from Charlotte to Cleveland was delayed when a woman carrying what she characterized as an emotional support animal refused to deplane from the aircraft. Although the airline permits air travel for emotional support animals, the passenger failed...
Crowdfunding and School Board Policy
“Crowdfunding” is the practice of funding a project by raising relatively small amounts of money from a large number of people, usually via the internet. In schools, crowdfunding helps teachers and schools to obtain funding and supplies. Online Crowdfunding and How It...
FBI Issues Public Service Alert, Warns of Student Privacy Risk
On September 13, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public service alert to raise awareness of cybersecurity concerns for K–12 students. While education technologies have helped to engage community involvement and improve the educational environment,...
Medical Marijuana in Ohio
In 2016, Ohio became the twenty-sixth state to legalize the use of marijuana for certain specified medical conditions. Medical marijuana facilities and patient registries are expected to be fully operational in the near future. School districts should be aware of how...
Supreme Court Rules Fair Share Fees Unconstitutional
Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 that a public sector collective bargaining agreement that includes an agency fee clause (also referred to as “fair share” fee) that requires all employees of the unit to pay union dues is a violation of...
Court Upholds Denial of Public Records Request as Overly Broad
Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals, in a case arising in Erie County, Ohio, upheld the denial of public records requests for all emails from certain elected county officials to other county employees over the span of a month. The requester asked for the following:...
Ohio Attorney General Issues Opinion on Property Valuation Settlements
The Ohio attorney general recently published an opinion that addressed several questions regarding property valuation settlements when property owners and boards of education contest an auditor’s value (O.A.G. No. 2018-011). A party such as a board of education or a...
Court’s Decision Overturned in Gender Discrimination Case
Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals recently overturned a decision of the Ohio Court of Claims in a case alleging gender discrimination. The Court of Claims had rendered summary judgment in favor of the employer, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), but...
Court Finds Public Records Request Overly Broad and Ambiguous
In a dispute filed against a Columbus area school district, the Ohio Court of Claims found one part of a four-part public records request overly broad and ambiguous. The other three parts were dismissed as moot. Upper Arlington Schools received a public records...
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Opinion regarding Athletic Coaches
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an official statement of Wage and Hour Division policy concerning athletic coaches for public schools. Opinion Letter FLSA2018-6, issued on January 5, 2018, is an exact reproduction of a previous Wage and Hour Division...
Legislation to Create Substitute Pupil Services Personnel License
The Ohio House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that would create a license for individuals to serve as substitute pupil services personnel. HB 491 passed in the House Education and Career Readiness Committee on March 21 by a vote of 16-0. The bill...
OAG Again Addresses Interest in Public Contracts
On March 16, the Ohio Attorney General released Opinion No. 2018-006, which again addresses board member interests in public contracts. In this instance, a member of a board of education leased a building through a limited liability company to the school district for...
Students’ Right to Protest: A Reflection on the Tinker Decision
In 1965, a group of siblings and a family friend in Des Moines, Iowa, decided to wear black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam War. When the principals of their schools became aware of the plan, they developed a policy prohibiting such protests – a policy...
Endrew F.: Where Is It Now?
As many in education are aware, on March 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court published an opinion in a significant special education case: Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE–1, 580 U.S. ___ (2017). This decision clarified the standard for a free appropriate...
U.S. Department of Education Weighs In on Handling of Transgender Student Complaints
On February 12, 2018, BuzzFeed News issued an article detailing an interview with U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) officials wherein the USDOE spokesperson outlined the department’s policy on how it would handle transgender student complaints. The details of this...
IDEA, Child Find, and Evaluations
During Ennis Britton’s October 2017 Special Education Symposium, participants around the state were given the opportunity to submit questions on note cards. Because of time constraints and the large response, our Special Education Team was not able to address all of...
Ennis Britton Announces New Shareholders!
Ennis Britton is very pleased to announce that Ryan M. LaFlamme, Pamela A. Leist, Giselle S. Spencer, Erin Wessendorf-Wortman, and Megan Bair Zidian have been promoted to the position of shareholder in the firm. “We are proud to have such a fine cohort of attorneys...
House Bill 170 Advances Tech-Driven Education in Ohio
HB 170 provides the option for secondary schools to offer instruction in computer science. After the bill passed in the House, the Senate amended it, and the House then reviewed and agreed to the changes. Gov. Kasich signed the bill on December 22. Model curriculum...