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Franczek P.C. attorneys regularly provide trainings and in-service presentations to school board members, administrators and employers on a variety of education and employment-related topics. To request a customized training or presentation on a particular topic, please contact your regular Franczek contact or allmarketing@franczek.com. 

Franczek also offers several trainings and toolkits available for purchase for a flat fee, including those described below. Trainings can be provided pre-recorded or offered live. If you would like to request a live training of any of the below options, or on a topic that you do not see, please reach out to the attorneys identified below or to allmarketing@franczek.com.

Title IX

Title IX Training

Title IX regulations can be tricky to navigate. We offer several different levels of training, from basic to role training. Trainings can be purchased ala carte or as a package. For more information on these training sessions, please complete this form or contact our Title IX Team at TitleIX@franczek.com.

Basic Training

The Title IX regulations require school districts to train separate administrators to perform the roles of Title IX Coordinator, Investigator, Decision-Makers (initial and appellate), and Informal Resolution Facilitators. You may have trained your team last year but have changed roles or changed personnel. Franczek P.C.’s training allows compliance for the entire Title IX Team of a school or district.

Refresher Training

Title IX team members who participated in training last year may want to brush up on the rules and procedures and get an update on legal developments and lessons learned one year into the Title IX regulations. Refresher training can help reinforce compliance and best practices and keep your team’s skills sharp without a big-time commitment. During this training, we will review the requirements under Title IX for addressing reports and complaints of sexual harassment, provide relevant legal developments since the adoption of the 2020 amendments, and address key topics that your Title IX team should know for successful implementation of your school’s Title IX policies.

Role Training

Title IX team members may want additional direction specific to their role on the Title IX team. Those in new roles or looking to refresh or expand their understanding should consider these more in-depth trainings:

Coordinator Training

This two-hour training will build on the information presented in the Basic Training session. This session will include information of specific relevance to Title IX Coordinators, including:

  • Required steps for responding to reports of sexual harassment, including initial meeting with complainant and provision of supportive measures
  • Applicable factors for determining when the Title IX Coordinator would initiate a formal complaint
  • Initial analysis of complaint for Title IX applicability (including required steps for dismissal of complaint)
  • Recordkeeping requirements
  • Hypothetical examples to illustrate key investigation principles

Investigator Training

This two-hour training will build on the information presented in the Basic Training session. This session will include information of specific relevance to Investigators and Title IX Coordinators, including:

  • Best practices for conducting investigations
  • Issues of relevance to create investigation reports that fairly summarize relevant evidence
  • Hypothetical examples to illustrate key investigation principles

This training is recommended for Title IX Coordinators and individuals who may be identified to serve as investigators in Title IX matters. This includes deans, assistant/associate principals, and district-level administrators other than Superintendent.

Decision-Maker Training

This two-hour training will build on the information presented in the Initial Title IX Initial Compliance Training session. This session will include information of specific relevance to Title IX Decision-Makers (initial complaint and appeal), including:

  • Issues of relevance of questions and evidence
  • When questions and evidence about a complainant’s sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior are not relevant
  • The complaint and appeal decision-making processes
  • Technologies used during live hearings (if applicable)
  • Recordkeeping requirements
  • Hypothetical examples to illustrate key investigation principles

In addition to Title IX Coordinators, this training is recommended for individuals who may be identified to serve as decision-makers on complaints or appeals. This includes building principals and the full range of district-level administrators, including Superintendents and Board members, depending on who will handle appeals.

Informal Resolution Facilitator Training

This 1.5-hour training will build on the information presented in the Basic Training session. This session will include information of specific relevance to facilitators of informal resolution processes that can be offered under Title IX, including:

  • Concerns relating to potential conflicts of interest in informal resolution processes
  • When informal resolution processes may and may not be used under the new Title IX rules
  • Practical training on holding effective informal resolution sessions

In addition to Title IX Coordinators, this training is recommended for individuals who may be identified to serve as informal resolution facilitators under the new Title IX process. This includes a broad subset of school personnel and may consist of deans, assistant/associate principals, and the full range of district-level administrators.

Title IX Toolkit

Franczek’s Title IX team offers a Title IX Toolkit containing the written documents needed to keep your institution in compliance with the current Title IX regulations, including a compliance action plan, notices, forms, and letters. Contact TitleIX@franczek.com for more information.

Bullying Response Resources

Training on Responding to Bullying: New and Old Requirements for Legally Compliant Responses

Is your team overwhelmed by the use of the “b-word?” From kindergarten to high school, whether on the playground or on-line, complaints of bullying seem to be at an all-time high. With the start of the 2023-2024 school year, educators are required to comply with Illinois’ newly revised bullying statute. This training will help staff understand the triggers for notification, investigation, and remediation of bullying. Your team members will leave with practical guidelines for complying with the law, responding to complaints, and maintaining documentation that will prevent future liability. This training is intended for those responsible for supervising responses to bullying and those in buildings working with students and families.

Bullying Response Toolkit

As a follow up to our training on amendments to the Illinois bullying prevention statute, “Responding to Bullying: New and Old Requirements for Legally Compliant Responses”, we have created a set of forms to assist public and non-public schools with compliance with notice, investigation, and documentation requirements established for this school year. The Franczek “Bullying Response Toolkit” includes templates for the new 24-hour notice requirement, a checklist to facilitate compliance and documentation, interview templates to assist with investigations, and notices of final determination. Like other toolkits Franczek offers, the Bullying Response Toolkit is available as a set of Word or Google documents. 

For more information on our Bullying Responses Training and Toolkit, contact Kaitlin Atlas at ka@franczek.com, Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com, Dana Fattore Crumley at dfc@franczek.com, Jennifer Smith at jas@franczek.com, or allmarketing@franczek.com.

Residency and Homelessness

Residency and Homelessness Training

Have new staff managing your registration process that need training on residency and homeless issues? Or veteran staff that could use a refresher? Geared toward school district staff on the front lines of residency and homeless issues, this engaging, practical training will provide your staff with the key legal requirements, considerations, do’s and don’ts, and best practices for verifying residency, identifying residency concerns, and ensuring the rights of homeless students. For more information on our Residency and Homelessness Training, please contact Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com or Jennifer Smith at jas@franczek.com.

Residency Toolkit

To help school districts better assess residency and homeless issues, Franczek has developed a Toolkit of Residency and Homeless Forms to assist districts in collecting the information your school district most needs to confirm residency and homelessness status, determine if an investigation is warranted, and to help prepare you to challenge a student’s status if required. In addition to forms for general residency situations, the forms contemplate situations involving divorced parents, families residing with a third party without a lease, students residing with a non-parent or legal guardian, and homeless students. The forms may be adapted for use in electronic registration and enrollment. A user-friendly step-by-step guide walks administrators and staff through which forms to use in particular residency situations. The Toolkit also includes sample notices to be used when a district finds a student is not a resident. For more information on the Residency Toolkit, please contact Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com.

Curriculum Objections

Curriculum Objections Toolkit

Our Curriculum Objections Toolkit is a great resource to support districts as you receive and process curriculum objections. Our toolkit contains a sample policy, customizable forms and parent notices, and an objection rubric that reflect our recommended best practices for school districts’ policies and procedures for handling curriculum objections. Franczek attorneys Amy Dickerson, Nicki Bazer, and Dana Fattore Crumley also provide an overview of the key issues to keep in mind when receiving and processing curriculum objections, and discuss the Firm’s toolkit, during this webinar. For more information on our Curriculum Objections Toolkit please contact Nicki Bazer at nbb@franczek.com, Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com, or Dana Fattore Crumley at dfc@franczek.com.

Threat Assessments

Threat Assessment Model Procedure

All Illinois school districts are required to have a threat assessment procedure in place, and prior to the start of each school year must now file a copy of that procedure with a local law enforcement agency and the regional office of education, along with a list identifying the members of the school district’s threat assessment team. Franczek P.C. offers a model threat assessment procedure to meet the State requirements and to serve as guidance generally for threat assessment teams in their work to prevent targeted school violence. The model procedure includes explanatory materials to help you easily tailor the procedure to meet your school or district’s needs. For more information on our Threat Assessment Model Procedure, please contact Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com or Dana Fattore Crumley at dfc@franczek.com.

Erin’s Law

Annual All-Staff Training for School Districts

By January 31 of each year, school districts must provide training for school personnel on child sexual abuse, including evidence-informed training on preventing, recognizing, reporting and responding to child sexual abuse and grooming behavior. The training must address responding to child sexual abuse, including when the grooming or abuse is committed by a member of the school community, with a discussion of the criminal statutes addressing sexual conduct between school personnel and students, professional conduct and reporting requirements, and must include additional related training outlined in other School Code provisions.  Franczek has prepared training specifically tailored to assist districts with complying with this annual training requirement. Given the need to train all staff, our firm offers both live training options – in person or virtual – as well as on-demand training options. For questions about the training requirement, Franczek’s training options, or to schedule a training with our attorneys for the upcoming school year, please contact Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com or James Petrungaro at jap@franczek.com.

Erin’s Law Handbook Language

Erin’s Law requires all school districts provide evidence-informed educational information to parents or guardians in “the school handbook” on the warning signs of a child being abused, along with any needed assistance, referral, or resource information. Contact us for sample handbook language or questions about this requirement. For more information on our Erin’s Law Handbook Language resource, please contact Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com.

Faith’s Law Resources

Sample Policies & Procedures

As of July 1, 2022, the School Code requires all school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools to develop an employee code of professional conduct policy that addresses all of the following:   

  • Incorporates the Code of Ethics for Illinois Educators (23 Ill.Admin.Code 22.20)  
  • Incorporates the definition of “sexual misconduct” as defined in 105 ILCS 5/22-85.5   
  • Identifies the expectations for employees and agents regarding how to maintain a professional relationship with students, including the expectations for staff-student boundaries, recognizing the age and developmental level of the students served, and establishes guidelines for the following situations:  
    • Transporting a student  
    • Taking or possessing a photo or a video of a student  
    • Meeting with a student or contacting a student outside of the employee’s or agent’s professional role  
    • References the employee reporting requirements required under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and under Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972  
    • References required employee training that is related to child abuse and  educator ethics that are applicable under State and federal law   

Additionally, school districts, charter schools and nonpublic, nonsectarian schools must include a copy of their new employee code of professional conduct policy in any staff, student or school handbook. School districts, charter schools and nonpublic schools must also post a copy of their new policy on their website.    Franczek has recommended language and sample policies to help support schools with meeting this new requirement. For more information, please contact allmarketing@franczek.com. 

Teacher Evaluation

Unsatisfactory Appeals Resources

Section 24A-5.5 requires school districts to create an appeals process for teachers who receive unsatisfactory summative evaluation ratings. It further requires school districts to work with their PERA Joint Committee and teachers’ union to develop the process, which must be in place “beginning” with the 2020-2021 school year. We have developed a guidance document, and a corresponding sample memorandum of understanding, to assist school districts as they negotiate the appeals process with their teachers’ union and PERA Joint Committee. The guidance document and MOU address in detail the topics on this checklist for bargaining the appeal process and making the PERA Joint Committee determinations. For more information on the guidance document and MOU, contact Amy Dickerson at akd@franczek.com.