The following is a brief description of acts that were passed during the 2024 Session of the Connecticut General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut school leaders. ...more
8/22/2024
/ Connecticut ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
General Assembly ,
New Amendments ,
New Regulations ,
Public Employees ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Wage and Hour
To follow-up on our annual School Law legislative update, over the next few weeks we will be highlighting and analyzing the most important developments from this year’s session of the General Assembly that Connecticut K-12...more
8/22/2023
/ Charter Schools ,
Connecticut ,
Disabled Children ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
General Assembly ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Section 504 ,
Special Education ,
Students
The 2023 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on June 7, 2023. The following is a brief description of acts that were passed by the General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut’s K-12...more
The 2022 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on May 4, 2022. The following is a brief description of acts that were passed by the General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut’s K-12...more
8/18/2022
/ Connecticut ,
Education Reform ,
FOIA ,
General Assembly ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Mental Health ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Public Acts ,
Public Schools ,
School Lunch Programs ,
Special Education ,
Students
The 2022 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on May 4, 2022. The following is a brief description of acts that were passed by the General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut’s K-12...more
8/15/2022
/ Community Development ,
Connecticut ,
Economic Development ,
Education Reform ,
General Assembly ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employers ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
School Transportation ,
Students
Connecticut law has required public and private schools to condition a student’s entry into school upon providing proof of immunizations against certain communicable diseases (including but not limited to diphtheria,...more
1/17/2022
/ Article III ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Eleventh Amendment ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Immunization Exemptions ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Public Health ,
Public Schools ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Right to Privacy ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Standing ,
Students ,
Vaccinations
On September 10, 2021, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 13G, which set forth a revised COVID-19 vaccination mandate for Connecticut school employees (and childcare facilities). As my colleague, Melinda Kaufmann noted,...more
9/21/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Private Schools ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Public Schools ,
Teachers ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Recently, my law partner, Zachary D. Schurin, wrote about Governor Lamont latest/revised Executive Order – Executive Order #13A– concerning the wearing of masks (and/or other cloth facial coverings). While Executive Order...more
8/16/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Private Schools ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Public Schools ,
Workplace Safety
As we were all reminded when discussing the COVID-19 vaccine, https://schoollaw.pullcomblog.com/archives/covid-19-testing-and-eventually-hopefully-vaccines-what-can-the-schools-require/ Connecticut law (via Connecticut...more
As our regular Education Law Notes’ readers know, we have provided cascades’ worth of updates on federal and state COVID-19 guidance during this year long pandemic. There are many signs of optimism, as infection rates drop,...more
Usually, this is a busy time for municipalities and school districts, as they are in the process of crafting and seeking approval of their budgets for the ensuing fiscal year. Depending on the particular applicable charter...more
Among other things, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) grants parents access to educational and related records concerning their child. Under FERPA, “education records” are broadly defined as...more
12/24/2019
/ Electronic Communications ,
Electronic Records ,
Email ,
FERPA ,
FOIA ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
Student Privacy ,
Student Records ,
Students
On Friday, February 22, 2019, the General Assembly’s Education Committee will conduct a public hearing on numerous proposed bills. The hearing will take place at 11:00 A.M. in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building. Of...more
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly passed bills that, among other things: (1) revise the Student Data Privacy Act; (2) address budgetary issues stemming from attempts at reducing and rescinding...more
8/3/2018
/ Cost-Sharing ,
Data Privacy ,
Disabled Children ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
FOIA ,
Food Allergies ,
General Assembly ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Grants ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Devices ,
Natural Disasters ,
New Legislation ,
Public Employers ,
Public Health ,
Public Schools ,
Puerto Rico ,
Right to Privacy ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safety Standards ,
Special Education ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Students ,
Teachers
On Thursday, March 8, 2018, the General Assembly’s Education Committee will conduct a public hearing on the following proposed bills...more
In 2017, our firm published a summary of new legislation affecting Connecticut’s schools and public sector employers. However, the 2017 “regular session” of the Connecticut General Assembly was not the final word. Due to the...more
1/15/2018
/ Background Checks ,
Budgets ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Grants ,
Medicaid ,
Public Employers ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
Tax Reform ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
As my colleague Rachel Ginsburg aptly foretold, Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities [“CHRO”] has indicated an interest in involving itself with discrimination claims concerning the schools. A recent...more
On May 13, 2016, with much fanfare, the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Education jointly issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” [“DCL”] in order to provide guidance for school districts with...more
5/24/2016
/ Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FERPA ,
Gender Identity ,
Public Schools ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Universities
The 2015 session of the Connecticut General Assembly has just concluded. A comprehensive summary and discussion of laws that were passed during the 2015 session will be forthcoming from this firm after the Governor has acted...more
As a self-described FOIA nerd, I have written in these pages about issues pertaining to the effect of the Freedom of Information Act [“FOIA”] on the attorney-client privilege (and vice versa). In a plethora of recent...more
On March 18, 2015, the General Assembly’s Education Committee voted favorably on and advanced out of committee the following proposed bills...more
Almost exactly a year ago, my colleagues Michael P. McKeon and Zachary D. Schurin penned a piece on this blog that explored the deceptively simple question of whether parents could “legally” opt their children out of the...more
On January 7, 2015, the 2015 session of the Connecticut General Assembly began. Adjournment is scheduled for June 3, 2015. We can expect that a plethora of proposed bills affecting Connecticut school districts will be...more
School districts usually deny requests to view school video recordings, such as security tapes, in light of concerns about the privacy rights of students featured on these recordings. In a recent decision, the Freedom of...more
11/13/2014
/ Disclosure ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FOIA ,
FOIC ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Media ,
Privacy Laws ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Students ,
Video Recordings
It has come to our attention that certain school districts in Connecticut have already received requests under the Freedom of Information Act [“FOIA”] for access to overall district and school level summative ratings of all...more