Ennis Britton Welcomes New Attorney to the Team!
Ennis Britton is excited to announce that attorney Robert J. McBride has joined our team! Bob has dedicated his practice to representing public school districts and private sector clients in the areas of employment law, civil rights defense, board leadership, labor...
Court Sides with District in Teacher Termination and Vacates Back Pay
The Sixth District Court of Appeals delivered a win to school districts recently when it reversed a lower court’s decision ordering the Perkins Local School District to reinstate a former teacher who had been terminated with an award of $367,202.52 in lost wages and...
School District Transgender Policy Violates Title IX
On August 9, 2019, a federal judge in Virginia ruled in favor of a transgender student in holding that a school district’s policy violated his rights under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. The Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board case stemmed from a school...
Arming School Personnel
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office recently released an opinion in response to a request for legal advice on the issue of arming school staff. The letter requested, among other things, an analysis on how the training requirements under R.C. 109.78(D) apply to school...
Are Text Messages on Personal Cell Phones Public Records?
It is no secret that board of education members and school employees often communicate with one another through their personal cell phones. However, board members and employees rarely consider that these private text messages could potentially be disclosed to the...
Restraint and Seclusion
The use of restraint and seclusion in schools continues to be a high priority for state and federal policy makers. Ohio’s first regulations specifically addressing restraint, seclusion, and positive behavior intervention and supports took effect in 2013 as Ohio...
Can a School Board Member Serve as a Coach?
Given their choice to enter into elective office, school board members are typically service oriented individuals. They are very active in their communities and are often interested in the athletic programs of their district. Thus, it is not surprising that many...
Student Dress Code
A Federal District Judge recently ruled that a charter school dress code policy which required girls to wear skirts and prohibited girls from wearing pants or shorts, violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Many challenges in the past have...
Sick Leave Donation Program
The Ohio Attorney General has released a formal opinion finding that the board of education of a joint vocational school district (JVS) has no authority to establish a sick leave donation program for non-teaching employees of the district who are not members of a...
Changes Coming for Body Worn Camera and Dashboard Recordings
A new law may impact the obligations of schools, School Resource Officers, and law enforcement agencies, in general, in responding to a request for dash cam or body cam recordings. HB 425, which added new exceptions to the R.C. 149.43 definition of public records,...
The Licensure Code of Conduct for Ohio Educators
The Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators (“Code”), which was first adopted in 2008, outlines the framework for professional conduct for individuals who have a license or permit issued by the State Board of Education. On February 13, 2019, the Ohio...
Federal Procurement Spring Survival Guide
As of this fiscal year, all school districts that purchase goods or services with federal grant funds must comply with new federal regulations that were adopted a few years back. This is an important issue for schools to consider as they enter into contracts this...
Post-Janus Settlement Released
In a 5-4 decision made last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the extraction of agency fees from Illinois State’s nonconsenting employees of the public-sector violates their First Amendment rights. After the decision was made, all workers who attempted to...
Medical marijuana: federal grants, employment and student issues
As medical marijuana dispensaries open in Ohio, a review of some school-related issues.
Court Upholds Bus Driver Non-Renewals Where CBA is Silent
On December 14, 2018, the Fifth District Court of Appeals (Morrow County) upheld Highland Local School District Board of Education’s decision to non-renew two first year bus drivers. The Union filed a grievance in response to the Board’s notice of intent not to renew...
Religion in Public Schools
This time of year questions can arise in schools and the communities they serve regarding religion in public education. Community members may question the inclusion of Christian Christmas music in a winter choir concert, or parents may scoff at calling the upcoming...
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...