Communications & Media Law, Education Law

Consistent With Precedent, FCC Finds Violation of Competitive Bidding Rules Where Price Is Not Primary Factor

by Rebecca Jacobs, Mark Palchick | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC on 5/8/2013

In a newly released Order, the FCC upheld a Universal Service Administrative Company finding that a school district had violated the Commission’s competitive bidding rules by failing to weigh price as the primary factor in...more

Sixth Circuit Rules School’s Search Of Student Cellphone Violated Fourth Amendment

by Jackie Wernz | Franczek Radelet P.C. on 4/24/2013

In a recent decision, the first federal appellate court to address the rights of school officials to search student cell phones held that a student’s violation of a school rule regarding technology did not justify a general...more

Time to Take Advantage of HIPAA Omnibus Rule's "Good News": Fundraising, Research, and Student Immunization Records

by Kristen Blanchette, Adam H. Greene | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 4/3/2013

The Omnibus Rule went into effect on March 26, 2013. While covered entities and business associates have until Sept. 23, 2013, to comply with new restrictions and obligations, they can take advantage of the rule’s benefits...more

Be Careful When Searching Student Cell Phones, Sixth Circuit Warns

by David G. King, Christopher M. Trebilcock | Miller Canfield on 4/2/2013

With text messages, Tweets, Facebook posts and other digital communications so prevalent in student’s lives, schools have been struggling to deal with the influx of mobile devices on campus. Last week, the Sixth U.S. Circuit...more

Harvard's Secret E-Mail Search: The Intersection of Internal Investigations and Digital Privacy

by Benjamin Fischer | Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello P.C.... on 3/14/2013

Earlier this week, Harvard University acknowledged the fact that, in the wake of last summer’s cheating scandal that rocked the campus, it had secretly searched the e-mail accounts of 16 Resident Deans. The e-mail search was...more

Will Oregon's Manufacturing Employers Be Prohibited From Demanding Social Networking Login Passwords from Job Applicants?

by Louis Santiago | Holland & Knight LLP on 2/12/2013

Senate Bill 499, introduced by three Oregon Senators on February 7, 2013, would prohibit employers and universities, both public and private, from requiring applicants to turn over passwords to their personal social...more

#Edchat Followup: Legal Issues For BYOD And 1:1 Programs In Schools

by Jackie Wernz | Franczek Radelet P.C. on 2/12/2013

Each Tuesday the #Edchat hashtag brings together educators from across the globe to discuss education-related topics on Twitter. Last week one of the questions on #Edchat was “How do we train educators to teach in programs...more

FCC Overhauls Experimental Licensing Rules

by John Dodge | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 2/6/2013

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced a significant overhaul of its experimental licensing rules designed to make it easier for higher education institutions, manufacturers and health care facilities...more

Employers Can Discipline Employees For Certain Social Media Activity

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 1/24/2013

A handful of cases handed down by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has left employers wondering whether they have any rights at all to regulate, monitor and discipline employees for what they post on Facebook and...more

New State Laws Prohibit Employers and Academic Institutions from Requesting Usernames and Passwords to Monitor Social Media...

by Ropes & Gray LLP on 1/23/2013

An increasing number of states are passing laws that prohibit employers and academic institutions from requesting or requiring employees, job applicants, students, and prospective students to turn over their social media...more

New Jersey District Dismisses Teacher Who Called Students “Future Criminals” On Facebook

by Jackie Wernz | Franczek Radelet P.C. on 1/22/2013

Earlier this month, a New Jersey appellate court affirmed the dismissal of a tenured teacher for comments she made about her students on Facebook. Good summaries of the case, In re O’Brien, can be found through the National...more

2012-13 Education Legislation Summarized By KMTG

by Christian M. Keiner, Meghan Covert Russell | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 1/15/2013

In order to have the new 2012-13 education legislation handy, we have combined our series on the subject into one easy to reference location. Here you will find a recap of all the legislation we summarized, along with a link...more

Texas Leg Watch 2013: Will Texas Prohibit Employers From Asking For Social Media Passwords?

by Travis Crabtree | Looper Reed & McGraw, P.C. on 1/9/2013

Democratic Texas State Representative Helen Giddings filed a bill prohibiting employers in Texas from asking for social media passwords from applicants and current employees. Texas joins a long list of states that have...more

Legislation of Interest to Higher Education Institutions: Students

by Arturo E. Ocampo | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 1/8/2013

KMTG is continuing our series reviewing new legislation. Unless noted otherwise, the new laws take effect January 1, 2013. SB 1349 adds sections 99120, 99121 and 99122. Section 99120 defines “social media”. This bill...more

Michigan Becomes the Sixth State to Enact So-Called “Facebook Password” Law

by Michelle P. Crockett, Adam S. Forman | Miller Canfield on 1/3/2013

As we alerted you on December 21, 2012, the Michigan Legislature passed House Bill 5523, known as the Internet Privacy Protection Act (IPPA). On December 28, 2012, Governor Snyder signed the IPPA, which took effect...more

Michigan’s Internet Privacy Protection Act and Its Effect on Educational Institutions

by Michelle P. Crockett | Miller Canfield on 12/24/2012

On December 13, 2012, the Michigan Legislature passed House Bill HB 5523, known as the Internet Privacy Protection Act (IPPA), which, if signed by Governor Rick Snyder, will become effective immediately....more

Students First Amendment Rights And The Schoolhouse Gate.

by James G. Ryan | Cullen and Dykman LLP on 12/21/2012

The ability of school officials to limit student free speech has been a matter of significant debate since the seminal case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969). In Tinker the...more

University of California Flushes New Logo

by Steve Baird | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 12/20/2012

So, last Friday we covered this story: Critics Flush New University of California Logo. Now, we can report that the next morning, the Los Angeles Times wrote this story: Maligned UC Logo Shelved; “Time to Move On,”...more

Public University Lawfully Terminated HR Vice President Who Published Op-Ed Insensitive To Homosexuals

by Brian J. Kurtz | FordHarrison on 12/19/2012

The University of Toledo terminated an Associate Vice President for Human Resources after she wrote an op-ed column arguing that homosexuals could choose their sexual orientation and thus were not entitled to the same...more

Critics Flush New University of California Logo

by Steve Baird | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 12/17/2012

How about a little levity for your weekend preparations? There has been a great deal of discussion among those interested in the brand new and increasingly controversial University of California logo appearing on the...more

TechCon2012 Recap: Disciplining Students for Online Activity That Occurs Off-Campus and On Their Own Time

by Franczek Radelet P.C. on 11/27/2012

One final issue that we delved into at TechCon 2012 last month was discipline of students for off-campus, online misconduct. Stories of schools wrangling with the issue of whether they can discipline students for such...more

TechCon 2012 Recap: Should Schools Let Teachers Use Social Media in the Classroom?

by Franczek Radelet P.C. on 11/19/2012

Another hot topic that came up at our TechCon 2012 presentation on social media policies (which I blogged about earlier this month) is whether to allow teachers to use social media in the classroom. ...more

TechCon 2012 Recap: Social Media Policies and Other Law and Technology Issues

by Franczek Radelet P.C. on 11/1/2012

I was excited to speak to an engaged group of school leaders this past Friday at TechCon 2012. For those unfamiliar, TechCon is an annual conference that focuses on issues of technology in education and that is hosted and...more

New FCC Mandates Affect Schools

by Franczek Radelet P.C. on 10/22/2012

Many school districts and institutions of higher education use two-way radios for campus security, athletics, bus transportation, and facilities management. New FCC mandates require that all such radio systems be...more

An Eye-Opening Termination Of A Former Lingerie Model

by Michael Schmidt | Cozen O'Connor on 10/18/2012

A former lingerie model turned high school guidance counselor has sued the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) for discrimination and wrongful termination after being fired when Internet photos surfaced of the...more

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Communications & Media Law › Education Law