The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), which is a nonprofit organization focused on data privacy, recently issued a useful two-page “primer” for schools on disclosure of information during school emergencies. Although the document is not binding on schools, it contains […]
Category: K-12 Education
Three Things to Know About ED’s New Focus on Restraint and Seclusion
January 25, 2019
Most changes we’ve seen from the U.S. Department of Education (Department) these past two-and-a-half years have dealt with sex, gender, race, color, and national origin—not a disability—and most have reduced federal oversight, not expanded it. The majority of the cases […]
Supreme Court Justices Criticize School’s Discipline of Football Coach for Prayer During Game
January 25, 2019
The Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case involving a public school district that fired its football coach for kneeling and praying on the football field after games. If the Supreme Court isn’t even hearing the case, why is […]
PAC Finds Time Limits for Public Comment Must be Formal Board Policy
January 23, 2019
In a recent decision, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC), which enforces the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA), found that a school district violated the OMA when it limited the public comment period of a school board meeting […]
School Safety Commission Report and DOE Withdrawal of Discipline Guidance: What Does It Mean for Schools?
December 21, 2018
The 180-page report of the Federal Commission on School Safety is out and garnering significant media attention. The U.S. Department of Education also announced this afternoon that, based on the Commission’s recommendation, it is withdrawing the 2014 Dear Colleague Letter on Nondiscriminatory Administration of […]
Updated February 27, 2020 With PERA’s full implementation on September 1, 2016, it is important to remember that all full-time probationary teachers who are first employed with a school district after a district’s PERA implementation date are subject to the new tenure […]
Illinois Attorney General Supports Right of the Public to Criticize Board Members at Public Meetings
December 18, 2018
In a recent nonbinding letter, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor reportedly requested that public boards allow members of the public to speak about concerns with the conduct of specific board members. Boards and their members are not required to respond […]
Web Accessibility: OCR is Back, Is Your Website Ready?
December 5, 2018
As we mentioned in our article last month, the November 2018 version of the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case Processing Manual (CPM), deleted a section that was added in March 2018 that allowed OCR to dismiss burdensome complaints by […]