FAPE Focus: Interpreters
TEA recently updated the Administrative Code to provide that “All members of the ARD committee must have the opportunity to participate in a collaborative manner in developing the IEP. The school...
View ArticleLitigation Update: READER Act on hold…..
Litigation Update: this week a federal judge in Austin has indicated to the parties in Book People, Inc. v. Wong (Western District of Texas) that he intends to enjoin application of the READER Act....
View ArticleRAAC - What It is and What It Means
As schools prepared to reopen this September after the summer break, hundreds were informed that, due to the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in their buildings (and its current...
View ArticleAfter School Satan Club Allowed to Meet in School Facility
Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Saucon Valley Sch. Dist., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75001, (E.D. Pa. May 1, 2023). Because a School District allowed various community groups to meet within school facilities, the...
View ArticleNavigating the Intersection of Religion and Public Schools
Public school districts across the country face an October 1 deadline to certify they do not prevent constitutionally protected prayer — or else they could lose federal funding. The certification is an...
View ArticleHere’s How the Highly Anticipated Changes to Title IX Could Affect Colleges,...
The Department of Education (DOE) is expected to issue two major amendments to Title IX regulations next month that could cause headaches for educational institutions with classes already in full...
View ArticleBudget Commission Requests to Forgo Revenue
As a result of the 2023 valuation update, several counties have requested all jurisdictions, including school districts, to voluntarily give back millage to reverse the impact of inflationary increases...
View ArticleUpdate on the Commissioner of Education’s Determination of the Use of...
On Dec. 22, 2020, New York State Technology Law Section 106-b took effect, which prohibited all school districts, including public, private and charter schools, from using any biometric technology...
View ArticleHow School Districts Can Avoid Common Errors That Lead to Reversals in...
Georgia school districts are on track this calendar year to see a sharp uptick in the number of student discipline decisions being reversed on appeal by the Georgia State Board of Education. While...
View ArticleRules of the Road: Risk Management Processes for School-Sponsored Trips and...
With COVID-era travel restrictions in the rearview mirror, school-sponsored student travel is quickly accelerating back to pre-pandemic levels. As an integral part of the curriculum and an engine to...
View ArticleUpdated Competitive Bidding Threshold for Michigan Public Schools
In accordance with Sections 1267 and 1274 of the Michigan Revised School Code, MCL 380.1267 and MCL 380.1274, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has issued its annual memorandum to establish...
View ArticleSchool District Must Prove Student is Not a Resident
G.W. v. Avonworth Sch. Dist., 297 A.3d 28 (Pa. Commw. Ct. June 2, 2023). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court confirmed, among other evidentiary issues, that when challenging the residence of an...
View ArticleHow Georgia High Schools Can Navigate the Unanswered Questions of the GHSA's...
Georgia has joined the list of states that allow high school athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). On October 2, 2023, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) added a new...
View ArticleExpanded Permitted Uses for School District Sinking Funds
Under the Michigan Revised School Code, a school district with voter approval may levy a sinking fund tax to pay for certain allowable capital improvement projects and purchases, which include the...
View ArticleIs the After School Satan Club Coming to Your School District?
The decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Saucon Valley School District, ___ F.Supp.3d ___, 2023 WL 3182934, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS...
View ArticleArizona Has Entered the Chat: Federal Court Rules That Non-Profit Schools Are...
After two federal courts in Maryland and California ruled that private schools were subject to Title IX just by virtue of being non-profit, an Arizona court has weighed in with the opposite view and...
View ArticleRecommended Board Policy Update to Comply with New Competitive Bidding Threshold
As we detailed in a prior alert, Section 10-20.21 of the School Code was amended to increase the competitive bidding threshold from $25,000 to $35,000. The amendments went into effect January 1,...
View ArticleAmid Soaring Construction Costs, K-12 Schools Can Turn to Bond Financing to...
As the coronavirus pandemic left K-12 school districts contemplating a world of hybrid and remote learning, it also forced them to confront a big financing question. How to fund future building...
View ArticleAfter House Bill 68 Override, Implications for Education in Ohio
The Ohio legislature’s override of House Bill 68 comes after nearly two years of debate about how to handle mental health, healthcare, and athletics for transgender youth. School districts and higher...
View ArticleConfidentiality Provision of Educator Discipline Act Ruled Unconstitutional
Pennsylvania’s Educator Discipline Act governs educator misconduct complaints filed with the Department of Education for investigation and, if warranted, discipline. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2070.9. Once a...
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