Court decisions from across the country have implications right here in Ohio. Here is a selection of recent cases, and why they matter.
In the case of Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow v. Ohio State Bd. of Edn., 2018-Ohio-716, an Ohio appellate court determined that proceedings related to a determination by the Ohio Department of Education (“ODE”) regarding community school funding are quasi-judicial in nature and, as a result, the deliberations which led to the decision related to funding […]
In the case of Stanfield v. Reading Bd. of Edn., 2018-Ohio-405, an Ohio appellate court found that a school board can be liable for injuries that occur off school premises – regardless of the school board’s ownership or affiliation with that location. The case involves a student who “suffered a severe head injury when a […]
In the case of N. Canton City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Revision, Slip Opinion No. 2018-Ohio-1, the Ohio Supreme Court found that a “school board failed to point to any evidence that the sale price was not indicative of the value” in a property valuation case – resulting in […]
For the past decade the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) would only provide “informal advice” to school districts with questions about how the Family Educational Rights and Act (“FERPA”) applies to surveillance videos. On December 7, 2017, the Department FINALLY released a letter which provides school districts with some guidance on how FERPA applies to […]
In the case of Janiszewski v. Belmont Career Ctr., 2017-Ohio-855, an Ohio appellate court considered the following issue: Whether statements made during a school board’s executive session are privileged in a defamation case. To be fair, the appellate court considered a lot of other issues in Janiszewski. Seriously – there was a lot going on in this case. […]
In the case of a significant case involving the continuing contract status of nonteaching employees under R.C. 3319.081, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a substitute custodian whose schedule is irregular with respect to days of service, hours worked, and school-building assignment is not considered a “regular nonteaching school employee” under Ohio law and, as […]
In the case of Sun Bldg. Ltd. Partnership v. Value Learning & Teaching Academy, Inc., 2017-Ohio- 8727, an Ohio appellate court ruled that “a governmental entity can bind itself to a [contract] by taking sufficient action before it is executed.” Sun at ¶ 22. The case involved a fight over the remaining assets belonging to […]
In the case of Laborers’ Internatl. Union of N. Am., Local 860 v. Cuyahoga Cty., 2017-Ohio-8552, an Ohio appellate court agreed with an order from the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (“SERB”) which found that a group of social workers were “supervisors” and not “public employees” subject to Ohio’s collective bargaining laws. Accordingly, the social […]