G.W. v. Avonworth Sch. Dist., 297 A.3d 28 (Pa. Commw. Ct. June 2, 2023). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court confirmed, among other evidentiary issues, that when challenging the residence of an enrolled student a school...more
Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Saucon Valley Sch. Dist., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75001, (E.D. Pa. May 1, 2023). Because a School District allowed various community groups to meet within school facilities, the After School Satan Club...more
Cent. Valley Sch. Dist. v. Cent. Valley Educ. Ass’n, 2022 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 482 (Pa. Commw. Ct., Nov. 7, 2022). In an unpublished opinion the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the decisions of an arbitrator and...more
A.N. v. Upper Merion Area School District, 2022 WL 3371612 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 16, 2022). The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld a hearing officer’s award of 5.5 hours of compensatory...more
12/8/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Education ,
Distance Learning ,
Educational Institutions ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
Students
R.S. by R.S. v. Hempfield Area School District, 268 A.3d 521 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2021). (The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court explained that the Pennsylvania Public School Code requires a one-year expulsion for possession of a...more
Nicole B. v. Sch. Dist. of Philadelphia, 237 A.3d 986 (Pa. 2020). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that, when a fourth-grade student alleged that he was sexually assaulted in school, the 180-day period to file a claim...more
6/21/2021
/ Appeals ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Human Rights Act ,
Minors ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Sexual Assault ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling
J.S. v. Manheim Twp. Sch. Dist., 2020 WL 2508031 (Pa. Commw. Ct., May 13, 2020): The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed a lower court’s conclusion that private Snapchat messages between two students, making fun of a...more
Vladimirsky v. School Dist. of Phila., 206 A. 3d 1224 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2019). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court overturned a finding of the Pennsylvania Department of Education that teacher did not exercise reasonable due...more
11/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Back Pay ,
Department of Education ,
Due Diligence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Expert Witness ,
Good Faith ,
Mitigation ,
Reinstatement ,
School Districts ,
Teachers ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour
Judge v. Shikellamy Sch. Dist., 905 F.3d 122 (3d Cir. 2018). When a public school district offers an employee a chance to resign in lieu of termination, courts will review five factors to determine whether the resignation...more
6/26/2019
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Appeals ,
Arrest ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Due Process ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Public Schools ,
Resignation ,
School Districts ,
Termination
Wolgast v. Tawas Area Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 16-2240 (6th Cir. 05/25/17): The Court dismissed the retaliation claim of an IT employee who was terminated following comments criticizing his employer, a public school...more
School Districts should keep in mind last year’s guidance from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are entitled to equal educational...more
Carver Middle Sch. Gay-Straight Alliance v. Sch. Bd. of Lake Cnty. Fla., 842 F.3d 1324 (11 Cir., Dec. 6, 2016): A Federal Appellate Court held that a Florida middle school met the definition of a secondary school under the...more
Poe v. Southeast Delco Sch. Dist., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168598 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 16, 2015): Hiring a teacher with past allegations of sexual misconduct toward students made the district and an administrator potentially liable...more
In the past few years unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as drones, have grown in popularity and availability. With the proliferation of drones comes some difficult privacy and public safety questions for school...more
3/21/2016
/ Airspace ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Public Safety ,
School Districts ,
State and Local Government ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
When a student alleges discrimination within the school environment, the school district may be held liable if it was “deliberately indifferent” to the discrimination. Three recent cases involving allegations of sexual...more
10/2/2015
/ Coaches ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Public Schools ,
Retaliation ,
School Districts ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Title IX
Act 168 of 2014, the “Pass the Trash” Act, creates increased responsibilities and procedures a school district must follow when hiring new employees. The purpose of the Act is to eliminate the practice whereby a school...more