On the Call: Administrative Law and Special Education
Given the scale of federal regulations and their importance to several laws related to special education, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright may leave you feeling caught in the undertow of uncertainty. Have established "rights" found in regulations -...
Senate Bill 29: Implications for Districts
Senate Bill 29 (“SB29”) was passed by the Ohio General Assembly at the end of June 2024 and was signed by Governor DeWine on July 24, 2024. Generally, the bill impacted a number of sections of the Ohio Revised Code with a few amendments and added several new code...
CTC Corner: New Legislation Authorizes Payment for Student Teaching
On July 24, 2024, Governor DeWine signed S.B. 168 which seeks to relax burdensome regulations for schools. The law which becomes effective on October 21, 2024, contains a provision that should be of particular interest to career-technical centers. After that date,...
Special Education Update: 1st Ten Days of Suspension Without IEP Services Does Not Deny FAPE….Right?
Student discipline for students with disabilities on an IEP is generally understood to allow ten days of suspension without a need to provide services. In a recent case, a state level review officer in Ohio considered whether a failure to provide services within that...
The Power of Punctuation: Debate Over Grammar Leads Ohio Supreme Court to Limit Executive Sessions for the Purchase of Property
Look Ahead Am. v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Elections, Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-2691. On July 18, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that the Stark County Board of Elections misused executive sessions to discuss and plan the purchase of new property, specifically...
Supreme Court Reminds Districts to Triple-Check Their Evaluation Procedures
Jones v. Kent City School Dist. Bd. of Edn., Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-2844. On July 31st, 2024 the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Kent City School District to reinstate a teacher after determining that the Board of Education failed to complete three formal...
Back to School Reminders For School Transportation Administrators
Deadlines and timelines:1. All school bus and van driver physicals must be renewed and submitted to the DEW before August 31. DEW will send out "inactive" notices for any driver without a new physical on Sept. 1. Inactive drivers will not be able to legally operate a...
Welcome Back to Season Three! On the Call: Incarcerated Students
Welcome back to Season Three! When a student is locked up, districts hold the key to ensuring they receive special education. In this episode, Jeremy and Erin discuss how to move forward with a student’s IEP plan in the context of incarceration. The discussion...
Ennis Britton Short Series Podcast: Fundamental
In this preview of Ennis Britton's short series podcast, "Fundamental," host Jeremy Neff introduces the pivotal DeRolph v. Ohio case, marking the 30th anniversary of the first trial court decision this year. Jeremy shares his personal journey during and after the...
6th Circuit Temporarily Pauses Implementation of New Title IX Regulations
Tennessee v. Cardona, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106559 A federal district court judge in Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction on June 17, 2024 against the Department of Education’s new 2024 Title IX regulations that are set to go into effect on August 1, 2024. The...
Gender Equity Under Scrutiny: 4th Circuit Questions Law Prohibiting Transgender Girls from Competition
B.P.J. v. W. Va. State Bd. of Edn., 98 F.4th 542 (4th Cir. 2024). On April 16, 2024, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split decision holding that West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act (the Act) violated Title IX as applied to the plaintiff. The 2022 state...
Special Education Update: IDEA Does NOT Take a Summer Recess
Most educators were ready for a much deserved break as soon as the final school buses leave the building. While some things may resume at the start of the next school year, many mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Act and Ohio Operating Standards do not take...
Update on New Guidance Regarding Joint Purchasing Programs Under Revised Code Section 9.48
For those of you familiar with the web of statutes and Ohio Attorney General opinions regarding competitive bidding and cooperative purchasing for construction and other services, the Ohio Attorney General (“OAG”) recently added a new section to the web. For those of...
Ohio Court Emphasizes Need for Flexibility in Administrator Contracts
State ex rel. Ruble v. Bd. of Edn. of Switzerland of Ohio Local School Dist., 2024-Ohio-1542 The Switzerland of Ohio Local School District was sued by four administrators after their contracts were suspended by the Board of Education in July 2021. The Superintendent...
Special Education Update: Five Key Takeaways from LRP’s School Attorneys Workshop and National Institute
Ennis Britton attorneys Pam Leist, Giselle Spencer, and Jeremy Neff were at the LRP School Attorneys Workshop and National Institute in Savannah, Georgia earlier this month. Pam presented on the topic “Can you Keep a Secret? Navigating Confidentiality Under IDEA, 504,...
EEOC Releases New Guidance on Workplace Harassment
On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released new guidance on harassment in the workplace (“the Guidance”). The Guidance takes effect immediately. The Guidance sets forth the EEOC’s position on harassment that constitutes...
Ohio Requires Schools to Adopt New Cell Phone Use Policies
On May 15, 2024, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 250 into law. The law mandates that all Ohio school districts adopt a policy governing students' use of cell phones during school hours. The law is set to take effect on January 1, 2025. The law requires the Ohio...
FLSA Final Rule Changes Salary Threshold
In April 2024, The Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Final Rule increasing the threshold level salary minimum for the “salary test”. (See the DOL document entitled Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales,...
Court Clarifies When SERB has Exclusive Jurisdiction
Tipp City Edn. Assn. v. Tipp City Exempted Village School Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2023-Ohio-4000 After a district issued an unpaid suspension to a teacher following several parental complaints, the Tipp City Education Association (TCEA) filed a grievance alleging that the...
Read it Here! Science of Reading Professional Development Requirements Published
In late March, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce published guidance for districts on how to fulfill the staff training requirement for the new literacy improvement provision of HB 33. The guidance may be accessed here. That provision...
Special Education Update: Recent Case Highlights the Importance of Paying Attention to Academics
Ohio’s Office for Exceptional Children (“OEC”) found that a district did not meet its child find obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) when it neglected to evaluate a student receiving poor grades and displaying difficulties paying...