Late last week the Connecticut State Department of Education (“CSDE” or “Department”) issued new guidance addressing the rights of transgender students in Connecticut schools. Entitled Guidance on Civil Rights Protections...more
In May 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it intended to strengthen and protect rights for students with disabilities by amending the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973...more
On July 19, 2022, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released several guidance documents concerning the civil rights of students...more
On July 26, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a Factsheet explaining the potential for students who have been infected with COVID-19 to...more
While much of the talk about Biden’s education agenda has quickly turned to who he will appoint to replace Betsy DeVos and how he will manage the COVID-19 pandemic, both critical issues for sure, we wanted to highlight...more
OCR recently published a Q&A document providing expectations for compliance with civil rights laws during the pandemic. While OCR is not responsible for enforcing the IDEA, it is responsible for Section 504. Because students...more
There is a classic New Yorker cartoon in which an executive, discussing on the phone a possible meeting, says: “How about never – is never good for you?” This cartoon comes to mind when considering the requirement to hold...more
Recently, website accessibility has become a hot topic for schools across the country. Over the last year, the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR), has escalated the legal expectation that...more
In Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, No. 15-497, 2017 WL 685533 (U.S. Feb. 22, 2017), the United States Supreme Court held that administrative exhaustion under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was unnecessary...more
The Department of Education recently issued a Dear Colleague Letter explaining the obligations of school districts to students with ADHD under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The guidance notes that over the last five...more