Single Contractor Not Precluded from Providing Both Design and Construction...
Case Provides Valuable Guidance for Public Agencies Wanting One Contractor for Two Phases - A contractor that had two separate contracts with a school district — one for preconstruction services and...
View ArticleIL Court Clarifies RIF Rules When Tenured Teacher Evaluated Twice in One...
Decisions on reductions in force in school districts are not common in Illinois, so a recent opinion from the Fourth District Appellate Court warrants brief mention. The issue in a recent case,...
View ArticleCourt Decision Reminds School Boards of the Importance of “Sunshine” in...
In a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, a taxpayer unsuccessfully challenged a school district’s guaranteed energy savings contract. School Board members should be aware of this decision because...
View ArticleCommonwealth Court Grants Over Four Years of Additional Back Pay to A...
Vladimirsky v. School Dist. of Phila., 206 A. 3d 1224 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2019). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court overturned a finding of the Pennsylvania Department of Education that teacher did not...
View ArticleEmergency Planning for School Districts: What the Feds Say
The U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services have joined forces and set forth guidance on the role of school districts in developing emergency operations...
View ArticleNC Politics in the News - November 2019 #4
Agriculture - LAURINGBURG EXCHANGE: New federal rules could stifle developing hemp industry - North Carolina hemp farmers are bracing for an onslaught of federal regulation....By: McGuireWoods Consulting
View ArticleWhat Title IX Administrators At All Levels Can Learn From Recent Sexual...
My calendar has been full these past weeks with administrator trainings on Title IX, and one of the issues repeatedly raised is how age and maturity impact the analysis of whether conduct is sexual in...
View ArticleMounting Lawsuit Against E-cigarette Manufacturers
With a recent unanimous vote, Quakertown Community School District (“QCSD”) became the first Bucks County, PA school district to join the mounting lawsuit against e-cigarette manufacturers. Many school...
View ArticleOhio Court of Appeals Applies Supreme Court’s New Riegel Decision; Rejects...
The Seventh District Court of Appeals’ decision in Union Local School District v. Grae-Con Construction is another important victory for the Ohio construction industry in the ongoing debate over the...
View ArticleCAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – December 2019
Dear Legal Mailbag: A parent just left my office, and my head is spinning. He claims to be super religious, and he expressed concern about the middle school curriculum. He explained that parents, not...
View ArticleTexas Takes The Lead Protecting Private And Independent School Students
In its most recent legislative session, Texas lawmakers took a number of steps designed to protect students from potential harm due to sexual misconduct. The new rules extend to certain obligations and...
View ArticleNew York Court Upholds Law Eliminating Religious Exemption From Mandatory...
On December 3, 2019, a New York court upheld a recently-amended New York law that eliminated the availability of a religious exemption from compulsory vaccination of schoolchildren. Background - The...
View ArticleNew Guidance Clarifies Schools Health Records Governed by FERPA Are Not...
New guidance issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advises schools that most health information relating to students at...
View ArticleStudent E-Mails, FERPA and FOIA: What School Districts Must Disclose (and When)?
Among other things, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) grants parents access to educational and related records concerning their child. Under FERPA, “education records” are...
View ArticleSchool Not Required to Pay Attorneys' Fees Even Where IDEA Violation Found
A hearing officer with the Arkansas Department of Education (“ADE”) finds that a school violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) by failing to evaluate and develop a behavior...
View ArticleSee You In Court! - January 2020
The Nutmeg Board of Education provides for public comment at the beginning of its regular meetings. The Board permits members of the public to address the Board for three minutes or less, but the Board...
View ArticleLegislative Priorities For 2020
The Roetzel legislative team has been busy working on three (3) policy issues, all of which are poised for reform in 2020. ADC Reform The Roetzel legislative team has been leading the charge for...
View ArticleNew DCF Policy Facilitates Online Reporting and Creates New Unit for School...
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) adopted new procedures last month that will make life easier for some mandated reporters. DCF Policy 22-1-3, Mandated Reporter’s Failure to Report, has...
View ArticleCAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week - January 2020
Dear Legal Mailbag: As a sixth grade teacher, I get nervous every time I read in the paper about teachers and administrators being arrested for failing to report allegations of neglect or abuse. I know...
View ArticleEducation Records Are Subject to FOIA Requests
In an unpublished decision, on December 17, 2019, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued an opinion that education records are subject to disclosure under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)...
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