Welcome to our seventh 2024 issue of Decoded - our technology law insights e-newsletter. We have a few events we want to pass along to those interested in technology, but also other areas of law and business....more
As you recover from another whirlwind of a school year, we hope you can take some time to relax and enjoy your summer break. The next few months will be the perfect time to – at your leisure – catch up on this past year’s...more
Through our work with independent schools, we have seen numerous schools grapple with a variety of copyright issues including disputes over ownership of work created by teachers, unauthorized use of music or videos, and the...more
In this episode of On Record PR, Gina Rubel goes on record with Patricia Hennessy, Partner at Barton Gilman, to discuss the wide range of legal tools education lawyers employ to serve the needs of children. Pat is co-chair of...more
The “hook” of many federal anti-discrimination measures, including Title VI, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Section 303 of the Age Discrimination Act, is “receiving Federal financial assistance.”...more
In an earlier article, we discussed how a federal district court’s decision that mere 501(c)(3) status can trigger obligations under Title IX created shock waves throughout the private independent school community. A recent...more
Ensuring that an independent school’s board of trustees operates in a manner that is consistent with the fundamental principles of good governance is essential to the overall health of the school. After all, the board is the...more
After criticism of her testimony before Congress on antisemitism on college campuses, the President of the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, resigned. And, at Pomona College, authorities arrested a professor who...more
After two federal courts in Maryland and California ruled that private schools were subject to Title IX just by virtue of being non-profit, an Arizona court has weighed in with the opposite view and given hope to schools...more
As independent schools work to promote equity, understanding, and inclusion of students across the gender spectrum on their campuses, it seems that legislative efforts on the state and federal levels are moving in the...more
The highest priority for any independent school is ensuring the safety and security of the students committed to its care. Central to meeting this responsibility is establishing and enforcing appropriate boundaries between...more
On June 29, 2023, in a set of consolidated cases (Students for Fair Admissions v. Presidents & Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina et al.), the Supreme Court overturned...more
Reviewing your school's student and employee handbooks on a regular basis is an invaluable practice for ensuring that these documents accurately reflect the school's expectations, values, and procedures, as well as ensuring...more
We previously shared our School Law Legislative Update, focused on new Illinois school-related laws that became effective January 1, 2023. From that update, our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled a narrower list of those laws...more
In July 2022, two federal district courts on opposite sides of the country issued opinions that have the potential to have a major impact on non-profits and schools not accepting federal funding throughout the country....more
While the great majority of schools will not be requiring their students or staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this coming school year, that’s not necessarily true for schools in the Northeast and on the West Coast....more
At least one federal court – the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland – has found that a federal tax exemption qualifies as federal financial assistance under Title IX, rendering it subject to the requirements of...more
Historically, independent schools have not been required to comply with certain federal non-discrimination laws, including Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX), because they did not accept federal...more
On July 21, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a decision which could impact private and independent schools nationwide. In ruling on a motion to dismiss in Buettner-Hartsoe v. Baltimore...more
Historically, the ability of a governmental conduit issuer to issue bonds to facilitate a financing for a religious organization or a religiously affiliated school, university, senior housing facility or other nonprofit...more
The United States Supreme Court holding in Carson v. Makin could result in public assistance for religiously affiliated institutions of higher education. The Court ruled that Maine’s tuition assistance program is an...more
Under the CARES Act and subsequent COVID-19 legislation, independent schools may be eligible for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), a refundable payroll tax credit for employers, including independent schools, whose...more
Many students are generally familiar with the First Amendment of the Constitution, but they often overlook that it only confers the right “to petition the Government for a redress of such grievances.” As a result, only...more
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) recently updated its COVID-19 control measures in response to the resurgence of positive cases across the state, and all employers regardless of industry will be expected to take...more
The General Office of the Central Committee of China’s Communist Party and the General Office of the State Council on July 24, 2021 jointly released the Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-Campus...more