On Friday afternoon, the CDC updated its guidance for K-12 schools. Illinois public health officials quickly followed suit, with IDPH and ISBE stating that Illinois has “fully adopted” the CDC guidelines. Under the new guidelines, masking and physical distancing are […]
Category: K-12 Education
New Department of Education Report Highlights the Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on Students
June 29, 2021
Originally posted to our Special Education Insights Blog. In this immediate post-COVID-19 education landscape in which schools are contemplating a full return to in-person instruction, schools are also grappling with the stark realities of achievement gaps and the disproportionate impacts […]
Originally posted on our Special Education Insights Blog. On June 11, 2021, Kendra Yoch and Amy Dickerson hosted the sixth session of Franczek’s Educational Equity Webinar Series. This session focused on issues of disproportionality in special education and methods of increasing equity and inclusion […]
OCR Issues Request for Information Regarding Nondiscriminatory Administration of School Discipline
June 29, 2021
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Request for Information that asks members of the public to submit written comments regarding the administration of school discipline in K-12 schools. OCR stated the purpose of the Request is to […]
Virtual Board Meetings may Soon be coming to an End
June 28, 2021
On Friday, June 25, 2021, Governor Pritzker extended the Disaster Declaration related to COVID-19 for another 30 days. Pursuant to the declaration, public bodies may continue to hold virtual meetings in accordance with the Open Meetings Act amendments adopted last […]
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor recently issued a binding opinion holding that the Illinois Freedom of Information Act exemption for predecisional records does not apply to communications from a public body to a third party that stands to […]
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its first opinion addressing a public school’s ability to discipline a student for off-campus, online speech. The 8-1 majority opinion in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., authored by Justice Breyer, joins the Tinker […]
Originally posted on our Title IX Insights Blog. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, issued a Notice of Interpretation stating that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ+ students and employees […]