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 State v. Polk, Slip Opinion No. 2017-Ohio-2735, the Ohio Supreme Court held that a “school’s protocol requiring searches of unattended book bags—to determine ownership and whether the contents are dangerous—furthers the compelling governmental interest in protecting public-school students from physical harm [and * * *] that the school employees’ search of […]
In the case of Routson-Gim-Belluardo v. Ohio Dept. of Edn., 2017-Ohio-2611, an Ohio appellate court “affirmed the resolution of the Ohio State Board of Education [“State Board”] to revoke [a teacher’s] teaching license for engaging in conduct unbecoming an educator” where the evidence showed that the teacher gave students information in advance of taking a […]
In the case of Pike-Delta-York Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Pike-Delta-York Edn. Assn., 2017-Ohio-1476, an Ohio appellate court found that an arbitrator exceeded his power and authority by awarding the grievant a supplemental contract to serve as the head softball coach for the 2015-2016 school year because the 2015-2016 school year was not […]
In the case of State ex rel. Miller v. Pinkney, Slip Opinion No. 2017-Ohio-1335, the Ohio Supreme Court clarified that routine incident reports are public records that do not fall under the security records exemption of the Ohio Public Records Act. The case involved a public records request for “all offense or incident reports in […]
A new special education procedural safeguards notice, A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education, is now available for school district and parent use and can be viewed by clicking here. This publication replaces the earlier procedural safeguards notice, Whose IDEA Is This? WARNING: As of August 1, 2017, school districts may no longer use Whose IDEA Is […]
The case of Struckman v. Teays Valley Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2017-Ohio-1177, demonstrates the critical importance of contract language in transactions involving public entities. The case involves a real estate purchase by a school district of “approximately 70 acres of real estate” from a local farmer. Struckman at ¶ 6. The purchase agreement […]
In the case of Zanesville v. Jones, 2017-Ohio-1112, an Ohio appellate court found that strict compliance with the formalities of the Ohio Open Meetings Act are not necessary to support a conviction for disrupting a lawful meeting. The case involved the conviction of a citizen who “attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Zanesville City […]
As we previously blogged, the United States Supreme Court was asked, in the case of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, to answer the following question: What level of educational benefit must school districts confer on children with disabilities in order to provide them with the free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) guaranteed by the Individuals […]