As the issues related to the mandated school closures in response to the COVID-19 crisis continue to rapidly evolve, the Governor extended the closure through April 7, and in all likelihood, Illinois schools will remain...more
3/31/2020
/ Act of God ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
FERPA ,
IDEA ,
ISBE ,
School Closures ,
Special Education ,
Student Enrollment ,
Student Records ,
Students
School personnel should expect to encounter a heated parent from time to time; parents are often understandably passionate about their children’s educations. But what happens when parental advocacy escalates from vigorous...more
3/10/2020
/ Disabled Children ,
Educational Institutions ,
FERPA ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hostile Environment ,
IDEA ,
Independent Educational Evaluation ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Special Education ,
Students
As an Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigator, I was surprised by the number of times I saw the same issues again and again in Title IX sexual misconduct investigations. Nowhere was this more evident than with...more
2/26/2020
/ Colleges ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
FERPA ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Investigations ,
OCR ,
Rape ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Student Privacy ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
School leaders are often understandably confused as to which law applies to health- or medical-related records in schools: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or the Health Insurance Portability and...more
2/19/2020
/ Colleges ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data Transfers ,
Educational Institutions ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
FERPA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
New Guidance ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Private Schools ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Student Privacy ,
Student Records ,
Universities
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...more
The Firearm Concealed Carry Act (CCA) went into effect in 2013. One of its provisions requires a principal or designee to make a report to the Illinois Department of State Police (ISP) “when a student is determined to pose a...more
Public schools should be cautious as to how they moderate access to and comments on their social media profiles. In Packingham v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court recently recognized that the Internet, and particularly...more
The Department of Education recently issued three pieces of guidance, including detailed non-regulatory guidance, a student fact sheet, and a “Dear Colleague” letter, all of which address meeting the needs of homeless...more