This week, the General Assembly briefly reconvened for one of the Special Sessions authorized by the July adjournment resolution. Although legislative activity and bill movement were both limited during this narrow window,...more
Educational institutions in the United States, as well as those in other countries, are reporting experiencing a fairly new type of fraudulent scheme: the ghost student scam. “Ghost students” are stolen or fake identities...more
Community College of Philadelphia Opens New Career and Advanced Technology Center- Last week, the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) officially opened its groundbreaking Career and Advanced Technology Center at 48th...more
The California Supreme Court issued the following decisions this week: Coast Community College Dist. v. Commission on State Mandates, No. S262663: The Supreme Court addressed whether several community college districts...more
For school districts and community college districts considering November 8, 2022 bond elections. The statutory deadline to adopt the Election Order is Monday, August 22, 2022....more
For school districts and community college districts considering November 2022 bond elections. The statutory deadline to submit the Resolution Calling the Election is August 12, 2022, but some counties have earlier deadlines...more
Escalated tension, dissention, disagreement have been the new normal for school district and community college boards throughout the country. Censures and reprimands, once a little used arrow in the quiver of boards, have...more
Effective January 1, 2022, Texas institutions of higher education and public community colleges must comply with Texas Government Code 2054.0593 requirements when entering into or renewing contracts for cloud computing...more
School boards and the governing bodies of community colleges and other public entities in Pennsylvania will soon be required to publish a detailed agenda at least 24 hours in advance of a public meeting that outlines the...more
Higher education is often the gateway to a meaningful career, but it doesn’t always equate to a four (or more) year degree. Community colleges enroll nearly half of the country’s undergraduates and serve the majority of...more
Many employees of schools and universities are fearful about returning to work due to concerns about contracting COVID-19. There are many state and federal laws that offer protections to these employees....more
By the end of the 10th day of the 60-day session, the House has introduced 522 bills and the Senate 354. We discuss below a few of those bills and other developments in West Virginia that may interest our readers....more
In a landmark opinion issued Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit became the first federal appellate court in the country to extend the protections afforded by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to sexual orientation...more
Legislative Update - Tennessee General Assembly - Gov. Haslam opened his annual "State of the State" address on Monday with the phrase "Let's talk about the Tennessee we can be…" And, he did just that. The governor...more
Under the Dome: Inside the Maine State House provides a high-level overview of recent activity at the Maine State House. Maine Community College System Seeks Increase in State Funding - In the upcoming...more
In Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo Community College District, No. S214061 (Cal. September 19, 2016), the California Supreme Court rejected the “new project” test for determining whether a changed...more
“Enough already!” Reading between the lines, this is what a seemingly exasperated California Supreme Court appears to be saying in its latest California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) decision?Friends of the College of...more
Change is inevitable. Many times between project approval and project construction fluctuations in market conditions, financing terms or other factors mandate project changes. Do the changes require a further or modified...more
Californians must decide on 17 initiatives in the November election this year, and those are just the proposed measures of state-wide concern. Never mind the many local initiatives affecting counties and neighborhoods. The...more
On May 4, 2016, at 9 a.m. in its San Francisco courtroom, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in yet another of the many significant CEQA cases it has tackled in recent years, this one presenting critically...more
As an update to our recent post, the Massachusetts Senate took action on several important pieces of legislation that relate to higher education institutions and their students. Below is a brief summary of the activity that...more
The labor negotiations exception to the open-meeting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act does not permit a community college district’s governing board to meet in closed session to discuss the negotiation of a project...more
The General Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session on January 14. Lawmakers returned to Raleigh on January 28 to begin the session in earnest. The MVA Public Affairs Legislative Report on North Carolina will be...more
Academia’s cyber preparedness (or lack thereof) has received less media attention than that of certain retailers and financial institutions, but nonetheless the cyber risks confronting universities are pervasive and alarming....more