In B.H. v. Joliet School District No. 86, a federal court recently rejected a parent’s claim that the school district discriminated against her child, a special education student, by refusing to hold an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting after school hours. […]
Category: Publications
In L.R. v. Steelton-Highspire School District, a federal court in Pennsylvania held that the school district violated the McKinney-Vento Act when it refused to re-enroll a student with disabilities when he presented for enrollment as a homeless student for the 2009-2010 […]
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in D.S. v. Bayonne Board of Education that a learning disabled student’s individualized educational program (IEP) failed to provide him with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Despite the student having received high marks […]
“Day of Silence” Cases Remind That Even Arguably Offensive Student Speech May Be Protected Speech
Two recent cases highlight the limitations school districts face when trying to be proactive in restricting arguably offensive student speech before it has a negative effect at school. In the first case, Zamecnik v. Indian Prairie Sch. Dist. # 204 Bd. […]
Change in Title IX Policy Raises Bar for Compliance
Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Education has implemented a new policy under which it will consider more rigorous factors to assess compliance by colleges, universities and secondary schools with Title IX’s mandate for equal athletic opportunities […]
The Pledge of Allegiance survived review by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over 11 Western states. In Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District the atheist parents of a number […]
The U.S. Department of Education recently indicated plans to intensify civil rights oversight and enforcement efforts by its Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR division of the Department of Education enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination against students based on […]
Seventh Circuit Finds that School District is not Liable for Sexual Harassment by a Former Teacher
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Jane Doe-2 v. McLean County Unit District No. 5, recently rejected the claim of a Urbana School District student that McLean School District was responsible for the sexual harassment perpetrated against her by a […]