Paralegal/Legal Assistant 1

The State Board of Education is made up of 19 members - 11 who are elected and eight who are appointed by the governor. The chairs of the education committees of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate serve as non-voting ex officio members. The Superintendent of Public Instruction serves as secretary of the State Board of Education.

The Office for Professional Conduct administers the ethical standards for educators. The office investigates allegations involving criminal or ethical violations to ensure that all Ohio students receive instruction from educators committed to a safe, supportive and healthy school community.

Duties

Paralegal/Legal Assistant 1 plays a key role at the Board. In this position, you will be responsible for:

• Drafting legal documents and reports for review, approval, or use by licensed attorneys
• Responding to general inquiries
• Drafting documents related to cases (e.g., Letters of Admonishment, Consent Agreements, Auto Revocations)
• Searching files for inquiries or missing data for reports
• Creating, updating, and maintaining hard copy and/or electronic files for office
• Utilizing Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Professional to produce or merge complex technical materials (e.g., documents requiring use of legal, statistical, or other terminology)
• Proofreading documents for spelling, punctuation, syntax, and grammar
• Revising, modifying, and merging correspondence, forms, and other confidential and/or sensitive documents
• Entering data and other information into appropriate databases (e.g., case descriptions, list of offenses, investigation notes, sent and received documents, records of communication, contacts, consent agreement terms and monitoring, hearing information, subpoenas, final actions, and status changes)
• Updating information regularly to ensure accuracy of databases
• Preparing case files for closure and maintaining accurate log of all on-site and off-site files
• Monitoring consent agreements
• Monitoring other states’ disciplinary actions involving teachers
• Processing licensure applications as needed
• Researching federal and/or state statutes, recorded judicial decisions, and other legal sources and reference materials to prepare responses to inquiries to assist staff attorney
• Overseeing process for notifying educators and school districts of disciplinary actions in accordance with Ohio Revised Code provisions
• Indexing and scanning documents in accordance with public records law
• Assisting staff attorney with processing and responding to public records requests
• Ensuring compliance with statutory confidentiality requirements
• Scheduling administrative hearings
• Answering incoming phone calls
• Attending meetings
• Assisting with maintenance of office files

Salary

• $20.99

Qualifications

• Successful completion of certification program for paralegal or legal assistant
• Or 12 months of law school training
• Or equivalent of Minimum Class Qualifications for Employment noted above

Job Skills: Attorney/Legal

Other Information

• Unless required by legislation or union contract, salary will be set at the lowest rate of the salary range with gradual increases in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code or OCSEA/AFSCME Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Applicants must clearly indicate how they meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants are also encouraged to document any experience, education and/or training related to the job duties of the position applying for. You must clearly identify how you meet the minimum qualifications throughout your application and in your supplemental question responses.

Background Information:

• The final candidate selected for this position will be required to undergo a criminal background check as well as other investigative reviews. Criminal convictions do not necessarily preclude an applicant from consideration for a position, unless restricted under state or federal law or federal restrictions. An individual assessment of an applicant's prior criminal convictions will be made before excluding an applicant from consideration.

ADA Statement

Ohio is a Disability Inclusion State and strives to be a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The State of Ohio is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws.

Drug-Free Workplace

The State of Ohio is a drug-free workplace which prohibits the use of marijuana (recreational marijuana/non-medical cannabis). Please note, this position may be subject to additional restrictions pursuant to the State of Ohio Drug-Free Workplace Policy (HR-39), and as outlined in the posting.

Benefits

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees*. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website! Our benefits package includes:

• Medical Coverage
• Free Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance premiums after completion of eligibility period
• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
• Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care leave
• Education and Development Opportunities (Employee Development Funds, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and more)
• Public Retirement Systems (such as OPERS, STRS, SERS, and HPRS) & Optional Deferred Compensation (Ohio Deferred Compensation)

*Benefits eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. The Agency Contact listed above will be able to provide specific benefits information for this position.