A recent class-action lawsuit filed in Michigan, which seeks to overturn scores of Title IX decisions at Michigan State University, is the first of its kind. The case relies on a 2018 federal court ruling in Michigan that public colleges and universities […]
Category: K-12 Education
What Schools Can Do To Address Suspect Guardianship Orders in Financial Aid Decisions
August 6, 2019
A recent Department of Education inquiry regarding transfers of guardianship of college-aged students in Illinois is making news across the country. The Department’s Office of the Inspector General is looking into the practice of wealthy parents transferring guardianship of children to relatives […]
Discipline, Special Education, and Race: Key Takeaways From Civil Rights Commission Report
July 25, 2019
Originally posted on our Special Education Law Insights Blog In a July 2019 briefing report, the United States Commission on Civil Rights warned that students of color with disabilities face exclusionary discipline, like suspensions and expulsions, at much higher rates than their peers without disabilities. What […]
The Public Access Counselor (PAC) of the Illinois Attorney General’s office recently issued two binding opinions addressing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, the opinions found two public entities violated FOIA by improperly applying for the “trade secrets” exemption […]
Update: Application of New Tenure Rules Under PERA
July 24, 2019
As we discussed in an alert in December, with PERA’s full implementation on September 1, 2016, new tenure rules are in effect in Illinois. ISBE guidance suggests that for those districts with a PERA implementation date of September 1, 2016, the […]
The Evaluation Was Supposed to Happen When?! Timing of Special Ed Evaluations Over the Summer
July 22, 2019
Originally posted on our Special Education Law Insights Blog It’s a nightmare scenario: You come back to school rested after a well-deserved summer break to find a parent complaining that their child should have been evaluated over the summer and had an IEP […]
Key Lessons for School Officials and Other Public Employees from Recent Court Decision on Trump’s Twitter Account
July 16, 2019
As technology and social media continue to develop, so do legal questions surrounding their use by public entities and employees. On July 9, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump decided that President Trump […]
On June 30, 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order aimed at studying and providing recommendations on legal rights and supports in the school environment for transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming students. The executive order also requests that the Illinois […]