The Illinois legislature recently enacted Public Act 96-0051 which amends the Illinois School Code to clarify the amount of sick leave that school employees may take following a birth or adoption of a child. In August 2007, the […]
The First District Appellate Court recently held that a special education joint agreement district violated the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (“Act”) by not renewing a probationary teacher’s contract in retaliation for the teacher’s insistence upon union representation at her […]
The following is a review of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions related to education issues for the 2008 – 2009 term. Speaker of Arizona House of Rep. v. Flores and Horne v. Flores Issues Presented: Has Arizona taken “appropriate action” to overcome barriers […]
The Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court recently ruled in Richerson v. Beckon that a Washington State school district did not violate a teacher’s First Amendment Rights when it demoted her for making highly personal and harshly critical comments about her co-workers, the […]
In its recent decision, Horne v. Flores, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling that an Arizona school district and the State did not take “appropriate action” to address the needs of its English Language-Learner (ELL) students under the Equal […]
In a 6-3 decision that makes it easier for parents to be reimbursed for private school tuition for special education students, the United States Supreme Court held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not categorically prohibit reimbursement […]
Last week, the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 189 that would significantly amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and would grant new oversight powers to the Attorney General regarding both FOIA and Open Meetings Act […]
On May 21, 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court considered an issue of first impression for the Supreme Court: whether an employment contract is exempt from disclosure under Section 7(1)(b) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Comm. […]
