Cleveland Law Library Weblog

High School Fans Can't Paint Bodies

The Toledo Blade has reported that more and more schools in Ohio like Westerville North High School are banning painted public displays on high school torsos and tummies. Students who support their athletic teams will have to cover up their art and cheer, stomp, clap and make other noises to show how they feel about their teams. The report says that the ban is intended to make students more respectfull of opponents and officials and that Catholic schools in the area have similar prohibitions. Apparently, Upper Arlington schools near Columbus insituted the ban at least 10 years ago, but I have seen colorful displays on high school students at local football games in the Cleveland area.

Ohio AG Challenging Charter Schools

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has sued 2 charter schools in Dayton (Montgomery County) that receive public funding, claiming that they are not meeting academic and financial requirements.These two schools include New Choices Community School and Colin Powell Leadership Academy  Click here to read the complaints in the cases, as well as the AG's pending discovery requests. News reports predict that Dann will be filing suit against another charter school this week and additional charter schools in the future.  According to the Daily Legal News print edition, there are already 2 new Ohio laws on the books that require the closing of charter schools that either receive an academic rating of "academic emergency" (the state's lowest rating) for 3 years in a row or have financial records that are "unaditable." The Ohio Secretary of State maintains a current list as of 9/13/07 identifying community and charter schools that are unditable. The Daily Legal News also reports that although the Ohio Department of Education shows that 30 charter schools are in "academic emergency and 18 are unauditable, the new laws are not yet applicable to these situations.

Family Can't Sue Over Student's Suicide

Akron federal District Judge Sara Lioi recently dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of a University Akron student named Charles Plinton who comitted suicide after he was suspended by the University. Although Plinton was originally charged with drug trafficking following a local sting operation, he was later acquitted in criminal court. However, the University conducted a disciplinary hearing and suspended Plinton for a semester. After his death, Plinton's father sued both the University and the County in Akron federal court in the case captioned Plinton v. Summit County, et al., Case No. 5:06-cv-01872-SEL. District Judge Lioi subsequently dismissed the claims agains the University and recently held that the County was not responsible for what happened either. Click here to read the Court's decision granting summary judgment for Summit County. The Court's docket and orders can also be found on PACER.

Public Schools Can't Use Race to Assign Students

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued a lengthy opinion which held that race-based public school enrollment plans in Seattle and Lousiville, Kentucky were unconstitutional. Click here to read the opinion in the case, captioned Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 et al. , Case No. 05-908. The crux of the opinion held that the school systems paid too much attention to race and ethnicity and failed to treat all students equally under the law in adopting assignment plans that designated which schools the children attended. Specifically, the Court held that these plans could not survive "strict scrutiny" under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Click here to read an article from the Christian Science Monitor summarizing the opinion.

Parents With IDEA Claims May Represent their Child in Court

Winkelman v. Parma City School Dist. (May 21, 2007), U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 05–983:  Parents of a disabled child, who claim their child is not receiving a free appropriate public education as guaranteed by the  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, are entitled to represent the child in court proceedings, and need not hire an attorney.  Par. 1(b) of the Court's syllabus states, "These various provisions [of IDEA] accord parents independent, enforceable rights. Parents have enforceable rights at the administrative stage, and it would be inconsistent with the statutory scheme to bar them from continuing to assert those rights in federal court at the adjudication stage."  Also see High Court Backs Family of Autistic Boy by Elizabeth Auster, The Plain Dealer,May 22, 2007. 

by Sue Altmeyer

Ohio House Passes Budget Bill

The Ohio House unanimously passed their version of the budget bill for fiscal year 2008-2009, HB 119.  The Ohio House did not adopt the governor's proposed moratorium on new charter schools.  Also rejected was the governor's proposal to prohibit for-profit companies running charter schools and eliminate the school voucher program.  See Ohio House Unanimous on Budget by William Hershey, Dayton Daily News, May 2, 2007; "House Budget: Yes on vouchers, No on Charter Moratorium, Dayton Daily News, May 2, 2007.

See our prior post: Governor's Proposed Budget Available Online

Article on School Bullying Law

Walter & Haverfield's Client Alert on Education Law for April, 2007 is entitled "New Law Requires School Districts to Create and Implement Anti-Bullying Policies".  The article discusses Am Sub HB 276, passed in the 125th legislative session, which is effective March 30, 2007.  New ORC 3313.666 requires schools to develop an anti-bullying policy and ORC 3301.22 requires the state Board of Education to develop a model anti-bullying policy. The Ohio Department of Education has posted some Sample Policies on their web site.  Additionally, the law requires schools to post a summary of bullying incidents on its web page twice a year. 

2006 Charter School Law Challenged

The boards of 19 charter schools filed a declaratory judgment action in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas to have HB 79 declared unconstitutional.  The charter school boards object to the following provisions of the law:

*Companies paid to manage the charter schools (Education Management Association or "EMO") can appeal a charter school board's decision to terminate or not renew a management contract.  The appeal is filed with the school's sponsor or the State Board of Education.  If the sponsor rules in favor of the EMO, the EMO gets to appoint a new board for the charter school.

*A person may only sit on two charter school boards at a time.  Payments to board members are very restricted.

Charter Schools Fight New Law by Dennis J. Willard, Akron Beacon Journal, Mar. 29, 2007. 

Transportation Budget Enacted: Charter School Transportation Vetoed, Contains Restrictions on School Bus Drivers

Governor Strickland signed HB 67, the transportation budget bill, but vetoed a provision which would allow charter schools to have their own transportation programs.  Charter schools are currently required to use the school district's transportation system, unless the school district agrees otherwise.  If charter schools were allowed to have their own transportation system, it would take money away from the school district's transportation system. Strickland Vetoes Charter School Provision in Bill by Matt Leingang, Associated Press, Zanesville Times Recorder, April 1, 2007; Strickland to Sign Transportation Budget Bill Saturday , Governor's Press Release, 3/30/2007. 

The bill also prohibits school buses from being operated by anyone who has committed certain traffic violations in the last 7 years.  The violations include driving under the influence or committing homicide or another felony with a vehicle.  Owners of a school bus must obtain seven-year driving record checks on  drivers and annual records thereafter. Current law allows a six-year review.

The bill also contains a provision prohibiting motor vehicle lessors from paying red light camera tickets issued on the leased vehicles, and then attempting to obtain reimbursement from the renter/lessee.  The lessor must notify the city that issued the ticket of the renter's name and address.  See proposed new ORC 4511.092.  See our prior post Governor's Proposed Budget Available Online. 

Governor's Proposed Budget Available Online

Governor Strickland's Executive Budget for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009 contains links to three budget bills:  two concerning workers' compensation and one concerning the transportation budget.  Contained in the transportation budget bill, HB 67, is a provision prohibiting motor vehicle lessors from paying red light camera tickets issued on the leased vehicles, and then attempting to obtain reimbursement from the renter/lessee.  The lessor must notify the city that issued the ticket of the renter's name and address.  See proposed new ORC 4511.092.  Also contained in the transportation bill is a provision allowing charter schools to assume full responsibility for pupil transportation.  See proposed revised ORC 3314.091.