CAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – June, 2018
Dear Legal Mailbag: I understand that we can no longer make referrals to the juvenile courts for truancy, and I have a simple question – now what? Originally published in the CAS Weekly...
View ArticleJudge Awards $500,000 Against School District for Student Bullying
A Pennsylvania Judge has ordered the School District of Pennsylvania to pay $500,000, plus attorney fees, to the family of a former student who claimed the school district failed to prevent severe...
View ArticleSchool District Must Pay $500k for "Indifference" in Student Bullying
The School District of Philadelphia must pay $500,000 to a former student after a court concluded that the district acted with deliberate indifference when responding to student-on-student sexual...
View ArticleSupreme Court Upholds Authority of Michigan School Districts to Ban Firearms...
On Friday, July 27, 2018, the Michigan Supreme Court upheld the authority of Michigan school districts to ban firearms on school property and at school functions. The Court held that while the...
View Article2018 Education Legislation Summary
In its 2018 regular session, the General Assembly made a number of changes in the statutes that affect public education in Connecticut. This summary is intended to give you a brief overview of some of...
View ArticlePolicies Prohibiting Weapons on School Property Are Upheld by Michigan...
In a decision eagerly anticipated by the school community throughout the state, on July 27, 2018, the Michigan Supreme Court held that school policies that prohibit weapons, including firearms, on...
View Article10-Step Plan To Ensure Bullying Doesn’t Cost You
For the first time, a court used a civil rights law to hold a school district financially accountable in a case of student bullying. In the recent case of Cohen v. Philadelphia School District, the...
View ArticleSee You In Court! - September 2018
The glory days for Nutmeg Knights Football were long gone, the last winning season having been in 2003. But Coach Rock, the beleaguered long-time Knights coach, soldiered on....By: Shipman &...
View ArticleNo Retaliation Claim For IT Employee Fired After Criticizing School District
Wolgast v. Tawas Area Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 16-2240 (6th Cir. 05/25/17): The Court dismissed the retaliation claim of an IT employee who was terminated following comments criticizing his employer, a...
View ArticleShutting Down the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Public schools across the country too often rely on harsh disciplinary measures. These policies are marked by an in-school police presence, high rates of arrest and suspension, and ineffectiveness....
View ArticleCAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – September, 2018 #3
Dear Legal Mailbag: I drive the speed limit; I drink only in moderation; and I attend church every Sunday. Given that I try so hard to live right, I was surprised and upset when a state marshal arrived...
View ArticleCommonwealth Court Reverses Hearing Officer’s Exclusion Based On Parent’s...
Whitacker-Reid v. Pottsgrove School District, 168 A. 3d 905 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2017) The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reverses the Pottsgrove School District’s exclusion of students based on parent’s...
View ArticleSee You In Court! - December 2018
As the holiday break grows near, the members of the Nutmeg Board of Education have been on their best behavior, almost mellow in tone, dutifully moving through the agenda for each meeting. Things...
View ArticleThe Surf-By Lawsuit Has Officially Found Its Way To The School Industry
Earlier this year, we published an article warning that websites have become the new hotbed of litigation brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and that schools across the country...
View ArticleCAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – December 2018
Dear Legal Mailbag: I very much enjoy the Legal Mailbag, and I have a simple question for you. I’m wondering what can and cannot be placed in students’ cumulative files. In particular, I’m wondering...
View ArticleSee You In Court!
See You In Court: The Annals of the Nutmeg Board appears in the CABE Journal, a publication of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Educations. January 2019 - At a recent meeting of the Nutmeg...
View ArticleSee You In Court! – January 2019
At a recent meeting of the Nutmeg Board of Education, “security matters” was on the Board agenda. When the Board reached that item, Mrs. Superintendent told the Board that she has some ideas for...
View ArticleStudent’s Physical Assault of Alleged Harasser Does Not Constitute Protected...
Sanchez v. Brawley Elementary School District, 719 Fed. Appx. 723 (9th Cir. 2018) The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms District Court’s ruling that a student’s conduct of kneeing her alleged...
View ArticleGovernor Vetoes Two Key Bills for School Administrators in Final Hours of 2018
Two key bills for school administrators – one attempting to correct a dichotomy in tenure laws, one seeking to remove the salary cap for BOCES superintendents – were vetoed at the close of 2018. How do...
View ArticleWhen Pronouns Matter: Legal Issues Related To Transgender Students
In a 5 to 0 vote, the West Point Public Schools Board of Education terminated Peter Vlaming, a French teacher employed by the District for approximately seven years, for refusing to use a transgender...
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