Constitutional Law › Education Law › Civil Procedure

Michigan Ban on School Employee Union Dues Deductions Legal

In a split opinion Thursday, a federal appeals court cleared the path toward implementing a 2012 Michigan law barring public school employers from collecting union dues from their employees. ....more

Elmbrook School District v. Doe: Will the U.S. Supreme Court Rule on the Constitutionality of Holding Public High School...

During its conference this Friday, April 12, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to consider Elmbrook School District’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking reversal of a decision issued last summer by the United States...more

Teacher On 39-Month Reemployment List Remains A District Employee With The Right To File A Grievance

In Nelson v. Jurupa Unified School District (PERB Decision 2309E, March 8, 2013), the Public Employment Relations Board ("PERB") considered whether a school district committed an unfair labor practice by rejecting a teacher’s...more

Superintendent’s Lawsuit For improper Discharge Should Have Been Filed In State Court, Federal Court Says

A federal trial court recently held that a superintendent’s lawsuit for improper discharge in violation of her constitutional due process rights and in breach of her employment contract was not proper for federal court...more

Illinois Supreme Court to Tackle Public Employees' Right to Strike

Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term continue with The Board of Education of Peoria School District No. 150 v. The Peoria Federation of Support Staff,...more

Illinois Supreme Court Denies Taxpayer Standing in Constitutional Challenge to School Funding Law

The Illinois state educational funding statute survived a constitutional challenge last week when the Illinois Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Robert R. Thomas, affirmed an Appellate Court decision dismissing...more

Argument Report: Taxpayer Standing to Challenge Education Financing?

Our reports on the oral arguments of the Illinois Supreme Court's September term continue with Carr v. Koch. In Carr, the taxpayer plaintiffs are challenging Circuit Court and Appellate Court decisions that they lacked...more

District Court Rules District Must Fund Student’s Stay-Put Placement through Appeal to Circuit Court, Though District’s IEP...

When a dispute arises between parents and a district concerning the special education identification, evaluation, placement, or free appropriate public education (FAPE) of a student, the IDEA provides that the student will...more

Teacher’s Retaliation Suit Against School District For Exercising Right of Free Speech Involved a Matter of Public Concern

In Gschwind v. Heiden, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the dismissal of a teacher’s suit against a school district for retaliation for exercising free speech rights involved a matter of public concern and,...more

Seventh Circuit Finds Holding High School Graduation in a Church Violates the Establishment Clause

A Wisconsin school district held graduation ceremonies for its two high schools in a non-denominational, evangelical Christian church for several years. The district had previously held graduation ceremonies in the school...more

Pridgen v. University of Calgary, 2012 ABCA 139

Two students found guilty of non-academic misconduct by university on account of Facebook postings derogatory towards instructor. On judicial review, university decision quashed by Alberta Court of Queen's Bench under...more

Minnesota Supreme Court Upholds University’s Right to Discipline Student Over Cadaver-Related Facebook Posts

In the continuing saga involving the intersection of social media, university policy, and student speech rights, a public university’s right to discipline students for social media activity has been further defined and...more

Ninth Circuit Affirms Trial Court Decision In Waldorf Methods Case

In a case litigated by KMTG attorneys, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an unpublished decision which upheld a judgment of the Eastern District Court in favor of Sacramento City Unified School District in the...more

Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin

Brief of the CATO Institute As Amicus Curiae In Support of Petitioner

The Supreme Court has waded back into the affirmative action thicket, taking up the issue of the proper role, if any, of race in college admissions. Abigail Fisher, who is white, was denied admission to the University of...more

Higher Education Highlights - Spring 2012

In This Issue: - Will the U.S. Supreme Court Uphold Race-Based Affirmative Action? pages 1 - 3 - UCLA and Professor Face Fines and Criminal Charges in the Aftermath of Fatal Lab Fire pages 4 - 5 - Law School...more

How Will the Arizona Immigration Law Affect Education Law?

On April 25, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of the controversial Arizona immigration law. The Court’s decision on the Arizona law will have broad implications on schools across the...more

Employee Privacy On Work Computers To Be Decided By Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in R. v. Cole, 2011 ONCA 218. Mr. Cole, a teacher, was charged with possession of child pornography and unauthorized use of a...more

Frances Spurlock et al. v. David Fox, Jesse Register, Nashville School Board, et al.

Memorandum Opinion of Court Denying Summary Judgment

U.S.District Court denied Defendant Nashville School Board motions to dismiss and motion for summary judgment...more

A Federal Appeals Court Has Reviewed a Three-Year Old Lawsuit Involving a Former Eastern Michigan University Student

A federal appeals court has reviewed a three-year old lawsuit involving a former Eastern Michigan University student that addresses whether counselors who refuse to work with gays and lesbians on religious grounds are in...more

O BULLYING E RESPONSABILIDADE DAS ESCOLAS PELA REPARACAO DOS DANOS MORAIS E MATERIAIS

O BULLYING E RESPONSABILIDADE DAS ESCOLAS PELA REPARACAO DOS DANOS MORAIS E MATERIAIS...more

U.S. Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Case Challenging Law Requiring Moment of Silence

On October 15, 2010, in Sherman v. Koch, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Illinois’ Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, which requires schools to observe a daily period for “silent prayer or for silent...more

IP/Entertainment Law Weekly Case Update For Motion Picture Studios And Television Networks - September 9, 2011

Table of Contents: •Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, et al. v. Gannett Co., et al. •Oracle USA, Inc. v. SAP AG Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, et al. v. Gannett Co., et al., USCA...more

Ohio Education Law Monthly (May 2010)

In this issue: *Legal issues for a school board to consider before creating or approving a Facebook page *Seventh Circuit rules that summaries of witness interviews taken by a school board's attorney are not...more

Frances Spurlock et al. v. David Fox, Jesse Register, Nashville School Board, et al.

Brief for Class Certification in Racial Discrimination lawsuit against Nashville School Board in student assignment

Brief of Plaintiffs for class action certification in race discrimination lawsuit in student assignment case...more