Annual Notifications

Ohio's 135th General Assembly enacted House Bill 33, which requires developmentally appropriate instruction in child sexual abuse prevention to be included in schools' prescribed health curriculum for students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade.

As required by law, the district has selected the curriculum Fight Child Abuse, a resource provided by the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center Foundation. This curriculum has various videos on child sexual abuse topics such as safe and unsafe touch. All students will receive annual instruction from their respective building counselors.

Parents and guardians may submit a written request to excuse their student/s from taking instruction in child sexual abuse curriculum. Please contact your student’s school counselor if you would like to opt out.

Harassment, intimidation, or bullying behavior by any student in the Monroe Local School District is strictly prohibited, and such conduct may result in disciplinary action, including suspension and/or expulsion from school. "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying", in accordance with R.C. 3313.666 means any intentional written, verbal, graphic or physical act including electronically transmitted acts i.e., Internet, cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or wireless hand-held device, either overt or covert, by a student or group of students toward other students, including violence within a dating relationship, with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure, threaten, ridicule, or humiliate. Such behaviors are prohibited on or immediately adjacent to school grounds, at any school-sponsored activity, on school provided transportation, or at any official school bus stop that a reasonable person under the circumstances should know will have the effect of:

1. Causing mental or physical harm to the other students including placing an individual in reasonable fear of physical harm and/or damaging of students’ personal property; and,
    
2. Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other students.

 If occurring, this should be immediately reported to a school administrator.

Bullying Report

Pursuant to House Bill 276, Ohio School Districts are required to semiannually post the number of reported bullying and harassment incidents that occur throughout their district. A copy of Monroe's latest report is located here.

Safer Ohio School Tip Line
844-723-3764
Website

The Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of the Protected Classes of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and transgender identity), disability, age (except as authorized by law), religion, military status, ancestry, or genetic information in its educational programs or activities.

The Board also does not discriminate in its employment policies and practices as they relate to students and does not tolerate harassment of any kind.

Equal educational opportunities are available to all students, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation or transgender identity), disability, age (unless age is a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any legitimate objective of the program/activity), religion, ancestry, place of residence within the boundaries of the District, or social or economic background, to learn through the curriculum offered in this District. Educational programs shall be designed to meet the varying needs of all students.

Notice of Nondiscrimination and Internal Complaint Procedures

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students over 18 years of age ("eligible students") certain rights with respect to the student\'s education records. These rights are:

(1) The right to inspect and review the student\'s education records within 45 days of the day the School receives a request for access.

Parents or eligible students should submit to the building principal [or appropriate school official] a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The School official will make
arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

(2) The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate.

Parents or eligible students may ask the School to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the Building Principal [or appropriate school official], clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If the School decides not to amend the record
as requested by the parent or eligible student, the School will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when
notified of the right to a hearing.

(3) The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student\'s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the School as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement
unit personnel); a person serving on the School Board; a person or company with whom the School has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or
assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Upon request, the School discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

(4) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the School District to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The name and address of the Office that
administers FERPA are:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5901

Ohio's 133rd General Assembly enacted House Bill 123, the "Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act," regarding school security and youth suicide awareness education and training. The state legislation calls for a comprehensive approach to school safety involving the Ohio departments of Education, Public Safety, Mental Health and Addiction Services, and the Attorney General’s Office.

The law requires the following for school districts:

• Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, in grades 6 through 12 and continuing each subsequent year, schools must include at least three hours total (or three standard class periods) per school year of evidence-based instruction in each of the following topics:
• Suicide awareness and prevention.
• Safety training and violence prevention.
• Social inclusion.
• Each school district must use a training program approved by the Ohio Department of Education.
• Upon receiving written request of the student's parent or guardian, a student shall be excused from taking instruction in suicide prevention, violence prevention and social inclusion.

At Monroe Local Schools, students grades 6-8 receive training that utilizes Sandy Hook Promise materials, including Say Something and the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System. Students grades 9-12 receive training that utilizes Erika’s Lighthouse, Level III: Depression Education & Suicide Awareness.

Parents and guardians may submit a written request to excuse their student/s from taking instruction in suicide prevention, violence prevention, and social inclusion. Please contact your student’s school counselor if you would like to opt out of future SAVE Act instruction.

Mr. Jesse Catanzaro, Director of Personnel/Business Affairs
500 Yankee Rd. Monroe, OH 45050
513-539-2536 Ext 7302
jcatanzaro@monroelocalschools.com

• Title I Annual Notification
• Public Employment Risk Reduction Program
• Public Records Policy
• FMLA Notice

In accordance with Ohio Senate Bill 29, Monroe Local School District is committed to ensuring the responsible and secure use of technology for instructional purposes. As part of our ongoing efforts to safeguard student privacy and support digital learning, we monitor the usage of district-owned devices and accounts.

This monitoring includes tracking online activity, device location, and instructional use to ensure compliance with district policies and applicable laws. We encourage open communication with families about technology use and remain dedicated to providing a safe digital environment for all students.

Per the recently passed Senate Bill 29, our school district is required to inform parents of electronic monitoring. In order to fulfill those requirements, Monroe Local Schools must notify parents/guardians of the following:

This new Ohio law generally prohibits a school district or its technology provider from electronically accessing or monitoring:

1. the location-tracking features of a school-issued device;
2. the audio or visual receiving, transmitting, or recording feature of a school-issued device; and
3. student interactions with a school-issued device, including but not limited to the keystrokes and web-browsing activity.

However, general monitoring is permitted in certain circumstances, and in any year a school district elects to implement general monitoring, a parent of the enrolled students must be provided notice of such general monitoring.

As a result, the District is notifying you that it implements general monitoring when:

1. The activity is limited to a noncommercial educational purpose for instruction, technical support, or exam proctoring;
2. The activity is permitted under a judicial warrant;
3. The device is missing or stolen;
4. The activity is necessary to prevent or respond to a threat to life or safety, and the access is limited to that purpose;
5. The activity is necessary to comply with federal or state law;
6. The activity is necessary to participate in federal or state funding programs.

With this being said, you may see an increase in emails from the schools as there is also a SB-29 requirement of a 72-hour written notice when specific monitoring occurs as listed in 1-6 above.

More information on SB 29 can be found at https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/sb29. If you have any questions about the District’s general monitoring practices, please contact our Technology Director at tthornton@monroelocalschools.com.

Monroe Local Schools utilizes various tools and surveys throughout the school year to gather valuable feedback regarding student experiences. Together, these surveys provide important insights to help our schools create a more supportive and effective learning environment for all students.

Parents and guardians may submit a written request to excuse their student/s from participating in school- or district wide student surveys. Please contact your student’s school counselor if you would like to opt out.

Mr. Jesse Catanzaro, Director of Personnel/Business Affairs
500 Yankee Rd. Monroe, OH 45050
513-539-2536 Ext 7302
jcatanzaro@monroelocalschools.com

Mrs. Nancy Stratton, Director of Pupil Personnel
500 Yankee Rd. Monroe, OH 45050
513-539-2536 Ext 7151
nstratton@monroelocalschools.com

Reports may be made in person during regular business hours or by phone, email or regular mail. 24 hours a day.

For parent and student information on Title IX training, training materials and support hotlines, see this site.

Staff info on Title IX Training (Viewable to MLS Staff Only)