The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 23, 2021 that a public high school student’s off-campus social media postings in which she used vulgar language and disparaged school programs constituted protected speech under the First...more
Earlier this week, the Mitchell Williams education law blog reported on a school that recently was found to have run afoul of the First Amendment when they suspended a student for bullying. First Amendment issues in the...more
Schools sometimes find themselves needing to walk a fine but complicated line, whereby they curtail bullying but also balance the right to free speech. One recent case illustrates this point. A high school sophomore...more
In a recent case, a seventh grade boy was written up by his teacher because she saw him selling candy in class. The student told an assistant principal that he had hidden the candy in the bottom of a garbage can, and a later...more
3/5/2020
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Assault ,
Dismissals ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Negligence ,
Public Schools ,
Search & Seizure ,
Thirteenth Amendment
Arkansas schools often face parent requests to see all the school’s documents and emails about their child. Schools may wonder whether a parent has a right to such sweeping information.
Federal law gives parents the right...more
A hearing officer with the Arkansas Department of Education (“ADE”) finds that a school violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) by failing to evaluate and develop a behavior intervention plan (“BIP”)...more