With the start of the 2025-2026 school year right around the corner, we have compiled the key legal developments that will be affecting public schools and educators this school year. Most of these developments arise from Ohio’s biennial budget bill (H.B. 96), but we are also including important updates related to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term along with other legislation impacting education.
On November 27, 2024, Governor DeWine signed Ohio Senate Bill 104 into law, which includes provisions from HB 183 requiring schools to designate restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities based on biological sex (male or female). The law applies to K-12 schools, chartered nonpublic schools, educational service centers, and higher education institutions, effective February 25, 2025. It also updates the College Credit Plus program, allowing students to apply by November 1st for participation in the next semester. Schools must revise policies and facility plans to comply with these new requirements, consulting legal counsel as needed.
In April of 2024, Ohio House Bill 68 was enacted into law. HB 68 is also more commonly referred to as the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women's Sports Act. The law's two primary objectives are to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors and to block trans...
The path to implementing the new 2024 Title IX Regulations has been a long and winding road and as we approach the August 1st deadline, injunctions issued in two federal lawsuits are directly impacting Ohio K-12 schools as they prepare to begin the new academic year. When the U.S. Department ...
All board members and school district employees are now required to undergo fraud reporting training between September 1, 2024, and November 29, 2024. The training is freely available through the Auditor of State's website and can be completed in under eight minutes.
On June 17, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing its final Title IX rule in Ohio and five other states. The injunction comes as school districts were updating their policies and retraining staff in anticipation of the new rule taking effect on August 1.
On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion regarding public officials' ability to delete comments or “block” individuals on personal social media pages. The case, Lindke v. Freed, establishes a two-prong test for determining whether actions like deleting comments or blocking individuals on social media violates the First Amendment.
The path to implementing new Title IX regulations has been a long and winding road for the Biden administration as we have watched three self-imposed deadlines come and go. However, on February 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education took a major step in transmitting the proposed regulations to...
The inflation-adjusted filing threshold for tax valuation complaints has been increased to $535,000 for tax year 2023. House Bill 187 would impose further restrictions on school district involvement in the property valuation process.
On August 21, 2023, the Auditor of State published long-anticipated guidance concerning school district levy or bond elections that clarifies the activities school officials and employees may engage in during levy or bond elections.
School districts could face more frequent special education litigation in the wake of the Supreme Court's Perez decision. The Court held that plaintiffs do not need to exhaust administrative remedies under the IDEA if they are seeking remedies otherwise not available under the Act.
The U.S. Department of Education released a proposed rule regarding eligibility and participation for transgender students in scholastic athletic programs that would prohibit school districts from categorically preventing transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identities.
On December 30, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision in Adams v. St. Johns County, Florida, holding that exclusion of transgender students from biological gender non-conforming restrooms does not violate the gender non-discrimination prohibitions of Title IX. Thi...
The Supreme Court of Ohio’s recent decision in Hicks v. Clermont County clarifies the requirements public bodies must meet for entering executive session, and holds that public bodies shall be presumed to have properly entered executive session absent any evidence of wrongdoing.
On July 19, the Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, issued a departmental policy letter to the nation’s educators, school leaders, parents, and students addressing the importance of supporting the needs of students with all forms of disabilities. In conjunction, the U.S. Department of Education’s (“USDOE”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (“OSERS”) released new resources aimed at assisting schools in avoiding the discriminatory use of discipline against students with disabilities.
The U.S. Department of Education released for public comment proposed changes to the regulations that help elementary and secondary schools and colleges and universities implement this vital legislation. The proposed regulations will reinstate and codify aspects of the Obama-era guidance, and provide significant additional protections against discrimination on the basis of sex, particularly for LGBTQI+ students.
House Bill 583 will extend short-term, non-bachelor substitute teacher flexibility for two more years, through the 2023-2024 school year.
On Thursday, April 21, Governor DeWine signed into law House Bill 126 that will all but remove boards of education from the property valuation process. In its final form, H.B. 126 all but excludes district boards of education from participating in the property valuation appeals process. The law takes full effect beginning in the Tax Year 2022 valuation cycle (calendar year 2023), but currently pending complaints and appeals for Tax Year 2021 and earlier will proceed as normal.
On Monday, April 4, House Bill 616 was introduced in Ohio's House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt, would ban the teaching of “divisive or inherently racist” concepts, as well as restrict school districts from teaching the concepts of sexua...
S.B. 11 corrects the previous legislative drafting error providing Juneteenth as a paid holiday only to nine or ten-month nonteaching employees. Now the law provides Juneteenth as a paid holiday to eleven and twelve-month nonteaching employees.
Last week, the Ohio Department of Education Office of Professional Conduct announced it will begin to require the use of a new specialized misconduct reporting form for teachers breaking their contracts after the July 10 deadline, pursuant to R.C. § 3319.15. The new form will be required startin...
Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony Donofrio issued an order on Wednesday, October 28, denying a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have prohibited the Boardman Local School District from enforcing its mask policy. This decision, while only a temporary victory, is a win for Boardman – and a good sign for school districts throughout Northeast Ohio. Accordingly, Boardman’s mask policy remains in place until at least January 27, 2022, when an evidentiary hearing will be held with respect to a permanent injunction on the subject. Due to the Judge’s denial of the TRO, PKM and the District are optimistic that the mask policy will once again survive challenge.
House Bill 110 was signed into law on July 1, setting the state’s operating budget for the 2022-2023 biennium. In addition to a major school funding redesign, there are several additional provisions included in the budget bill that will affect various aspects of Ohio’s schools.
On June 16, 2021, the United States Department of Education issued a Notice of Interpretation (NOI) stating that it will enforce Title IX’s prohibitions against discrimination in education on the basis of sex to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.
On June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District, ruling that a Pennsylvania school district’s punishment of a cheerleader’s Snapchat containing profanity directed at the cheerleading squad violated her First Amendment rights. This decision serves to limit the rights of public schools to police and punish students’ speech off-campus and on social media.
Peters Kalail & Markakis is committed to providing responsive, cost-effective legal services to education entities in Ohio.
