On May 16, 2024, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court overturned a Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PDE”) regulation stating special education students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education until the...more
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
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
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
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
S.A. v. Pittsburgh Pub. Sch. Dist., 2017 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 152 (Pa. Commw. Ct. May 1, 2017).
Summary and Factual Background -
S.A. was a 10th grade student at Barack Obama International Academy, a high school in 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
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