Professional Report

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NEGLECTED, OR
DEPENDENT
CHILDREN
the child is abused, neglected, or dependent or if the child has been
adjudicated as abused, neglected, or dependent.
The district responsible for sending the records may request a copy of
the court order regarding the child’s custody or placement but may not
withhold the student’s records pending receipt of that copy.
RECORDS OF
SUMMER ACTIVITIES
If a board of education provides or approves for students’ summer
activities (which must be approved by parents), the superintendent is
required to “cause records” to be kept of those activities which are
assigned and completed. Interestingly, such summer activities can be
required for promotions or graduation, but they then become subject to
the approval of the state board of education.
3313.57
RECORDS
REQUESTS, PUBLIC
Generally speaking, ORC Section 149.43 governs the release of
records. With the exception of records exempted in this section of law, all
public records responsive to this request shall be promptly prepared for
inspection “at all reasonable times during regular business hours.”
(Subsequent sections do provide for some additional limited exceptions.)
In addition, the person responsible for the records shall make copies of
the requested public records “within a reasonable period of time” and at
cost (which may not include staff time). However, the statute is generally
interpreted liberally so long as information protected by federal statute is
not released. This would include certain student records covered by the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Please see
for additional information on FERPA, including model
notices to parents.
In particular, if a public body denies a records request, ORC
149.43(B)(3) requires that the public body must provide the legal
authority for the denial of the request. is the most recent list
of legal citations (as compiled by BASA legal counsel Bricker & Eckler)
that might be used in the denial of the records request.
149.43
RECORDS,
TRANSFERRING
STUDENT
A school district or school is prohibited from altering, truncating,
or redacting any part of a student's record so that any information
on the record is rendered unreadable or unintelligible during the
course of transferring that record to an educational institution for
a legitimate educational purpose.
3319.323
RECORDS,
WITHHOLDING
STUDENT
Boards of education are permitted to adopt a schedule of fees for
materials used for instruction and a schedule of charges which may be
imposed upon students for the loss, damage, or destruction of school
apparatus (e.g. equipment, musical instruments, library material,
textbooks, or electronic textbooks) or damage to school buildings. The
payment of these fees and charges may be enforced by withholding the
student’s grades and credits.
However, no student eligible for a free (not reduced price) lunch can be
charged a fee for any materials used in a course of instruction. This
broad exemption does not apply to the loss, damage, or destruction
cited above. It also does not apply to any charges for non-instructional
purposes (e.g. “pay to participate” fees, parking permits, etc.) nor to fund
raising activities.
The permission to withhold grades and credits does not apply in the
case of abused, neglected, or dependent children. See RECORDS OF
ABUSED, NEGLECTED, OR DEPENDENT CHILDREN above.
3313.642
RECREATIONAL
WORKERS
Boards of education of city, exempted village, and local school districts
may employ persons for recreational work upon nomination by the
3313.58