If you haven’t already done so, make sure to report “grandfathered” CBA and employment contract/policy information to TRS by March 29, 2019, to safeguard application of the 6% excess salary cap. TRS considers CBAs and contracts entered into, amended, or renewed prior […]
The evolution and expansion of the health care industry continue to test the limits of Illinois’ charitable real estate tax exemption laws, with significant implications for school district revenues. In addition to hospitals, new types of facilities such as retirement […]
On the heels of a report by the Federal Commission on School Safety suggesting that many school leaders remain confused about the ability to share student identifying information during an emergency situation, the Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center recently released […]
February was a busy month for decisions about the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA” or the “Act”). In addition to a Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) decision reminding public bodies to respond to FOIA requests (and the consequences if they […]
Recent reports show that student homelessness is at an all-time high, and growing at exponential rates. Yet when we at Franczek conduct training of school and school district employees on residency issues, we find that it’s common for confusion to linger with […]
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently released proposed non-regulatory guidance addressing school district compliance with the requirement that federal funds “supplement, and do not supplant” state and local funds under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) […]
Since a 2013 Illinois Appellate Court decision, the City of Champaign v. Madigan, Illinois public bodies have known that three categories of emails and text messages sent to or from personal technology devices are “public records” subject to the Freedom […]
One of the loftiest goals of K-12 education is to teach children to disagree respectfully, but what do you do if they disrespectfully disagree—especially on a hot button, highly-sensitive topic? Many school districts find it difficult to balance the need to […]
