Michigan Court of Appeals Holds that Schools May Ban Firearms from School...
In two published decisions, issued on December 16, 2016, the Michigan Court of Appeals has held that schools and school districts have the legal authority to forbid the possession of firearms on school...
View ArticleSuccessful Implementation of Restorative Justice Practices
The passage of legislation mandating consideration of Restorative Justice in schools marks a movement away from "zero tolerance" by requiring schools to consider a number of mitigating factors or...
View ArticleWebsite Accessiblity - An Introduction to the Problem and Best Practices for...
Are you reading this article on a computer? I would venture to guess that you are. How did you access this page? Did you have to navigate through multiple web pages? While you were at it, were you...
View ArticleOral Argument Presented in Supreme Court Case Addressing the Level of...
On January 11, 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Endrew F. ex rel. Joseph F. v. Douglas County School District RE 1, Docket No. 15-187, to address the level of benefit a...
View ArticleA Cadillac, A Serviceable Chevrolet Or Something In Between: The Supreme...
On January 11, 2017, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, a case likely to change the landscape of special education by redefining the...
View ArticleThe Scope of the IDEA Statute: How Far Must Local School Districts Go In...
Say what you will about the Roberts Court, but you cannot say it does not confront diffi cult issues that impact the everyday lives of most Americans. One of those issues presently before the Court is...
View ArticleSCOTUS Service Dog Decision Could Spell Bad News For Schools
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that a disabled child’s parents were not legally required to jump through certain additional hoops and exhaust administrative remedies in a...
View ArticleTrump Administration Withdraws Transgender Guidance
On February 22, 2017, one day before briefs were submitted to the Supreme Court in a case involving a transgender student in Pennsylvania, the Trump Administration, through the Department of Justice...
View ArticleKansas Supreme Court Declares School Funding Formula Constitutionally...
Earlier this month, the Kansas Supreme Court issued an opinion in Gannon v. Kansas holding that the state’s current system of funding public education was inadequate under the state's constitution. The...
View ArticleNew Standard for FAPE - Program Must Allow Child to Make Progress...
The decades-old standard for what constitutes a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities was changed in an opinion issued this week by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court created...
View ArticleImmigration Compliance In The Trump Era: What Schools Need To Know
The first couple of months of the Trump administration have been something of a whirlwind. Many Americans have been glued to their TVs, computer screens, or smartphones on a daily basis, anxiously...
View ArticleChoices
I live in Atlanta, Georgia, the crown jewel of the Southeast. Along with its benefits, we enjoy dense traffic, inconsistent sports teams and challenged public schools. I mention the latter as my wife...
View ArticleCommonwealth Court Orders Teacher Reinstated When The School Board Fails To...
Vladimirsky v. School District of Philadelphia, 144 A.3d 986 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2016). The Commonwealth Court held that a tenured teacher has a constitutionally protected interest in his (or her)...
View ArticleMiddle School Gay-Straight Alliance Allowed To Pursue Equal Access Claims
Carver Middle Sch. Gay-Straight Alliance v. Sch. Bd. of Lake Cnty. Fla., 842 F.3d 1324 (11 Cir., Dec. 6, 2016): A Federal Appellate Court held that a Florida middle school met the definition of a...
View ArticleCAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – May, 2017 #4
Dear Legal Mailbag: Spring is in the air and I am spending the majority of my days at the various PPT and 504 meetings that have come on like a seasonal allergy. But to make matters worse, this is the...
View Article3 things your school should know about Missouri State Auditor’s emphasis of...
Since being appointed in April of 2015, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has consistently made cybersecurity a priority for her office. Ms. Galloway has focused on cybersecurity throughout all...
View ArticleInvestigating Sexual Assaults at School: Changes on the Horizon
We are closely monitoring the U.S. Department of Education’s policy guidance concerning investigations of sexual assaults and sexual violence on school campuses, applicable to both K-12 and higher...
View ArticleAre You Ready for August 1st?
The 2017/2018 school year is fast approaching and so are two very important deadlines. By August 1, 2017, school districts, intermediate school districts and public school academies are required to...
View ArticlePublic Education Under Attack in Florida
Imagine a world in which public education did not exist. A world in which children did not have schools to attend. A world in which the future generation could not obtain a diploma. It is hard to...
View ArticleMedical Marijuana on Campus: Barbuto's Impact on School Policies Banning Drug...
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC that an employee's use of medical marijuana to treat a qualified disability may be a reasonable...
View Article