Latest Publications

Share:

School Law Legislative Update: New Laws in Effect in 2023

Happy New Year! Several Illinois laws related to schools became effective January 1, 2023, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new School Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2023. A PDF...more

PAC Issues Two Decisions in Favor of School District Decisions to Withhold Student Records and Proprietary Information

Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued two non-binding opinions concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), both upholding school district decisions to exert exemptions and withhold key documents under the...more

Seventh Circuit Finds for School District in Employee “Reverse Race Discrimination” Claim

Recently, the Seventh Circuit—the circuit court governing Illinois—upheld a lower court’s judgment in favor of a school district defending against two reverse race discrimination claims brought by a longtime District...more

PAC Issues Two New Binding Opinions Concerning FOIA

The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued two new binding opinions concerning the FOIA—one upholding a public body’s denial of a FOIA request for union records and another finding application materials for...more

Governor Pritzker Signs Two New Special Education Laws Regarding Placement and Interpretation Services

Governor Pritzker recently signed two bills into law, expanding accessibility and flexibility within special education. The first, Public Act 102-0703 (House Bill 4365), allows IEP teams to place students at non-ISBE-approved...more

Illinois Passes New Law Exempting Food Service Agreements from Lowest Responsible Bidder Requirement

On June 29, 2022, Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 12-1101 (House Bill 4813) into law, amending Section 10-20.21 of the Illinois School Code, which generally requires contracts that are subject to the bidding process to be...more

Illinois Appellate Court Issues New FOIA-Related Ruling Regarding Unduly Burdensome Exemption

The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued a new decision regarding the FOIA. In Kraft v. Chicago Police Department, the Court ruled in favor of the police department, finding it properly exempted records as unduly...more

60-Day Public Comment Period for Proposed Title IX Regulations Begins

As we discussed in a previous alert, the Biden administration recently released its proposed Title IX regulations. Today, the administration published the proposed regulations in the Federal Register, beginning the 60-day...more

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Title IX

This week, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation signed into law on June 23 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. Consisting of a mere 37 words—“No person in the United States shall,...more

Title IX Refresher Series Part V: Title IX Advisor

Earlier this year, we launched a multi-part series where we provide a refresher on the key players on the Title IX team under the current 2020 regulations. While we wait for the Biden administration to release their proposed...more

Considerations for Law Enforcement Referrals

School district practices on referrals to local law enforcement for student misconduct in schools are facing intense scrutiny in the wake of the ProPublica investigation reported these past weeks in the Chicago Tribune. ...more

PAC Issues New Binding Opinion Regarding Personal and Pre-Decisional Exemptions Under FOIA

The PAC recently released its second binding opinion of 2022, which provides helpful analysis and guidance regarding the personal and pre-decisional exemptions under the FOIA. The PAC determined that the City of Chicago...more

The Illinois Attorney General and ISBE Release Non-Discriminatory Student Discipline Guidance

The Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently issued new non-regulatory guidance to assist public K-12 school districts with applying student discipline policies in a...more

ISBE Releases Isolated Time Out, Time Out, and Physical Restraint Reduction Plan Template and Due Date

Public Act 102-0339 requires each school district’s time out and physical restraint oversight team to develop a plan for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint in...more

OCR Dismisses LGBTQ+ Complaint Based on Title IX Religious Exemption

In a highly anticipated decision earlier this month, OCR reaffirmed the broad discretion that religious institutions may have under the religious exemption in Title IX.  ...more

Third Circuit Finds that Deliberate Indifference to Third-Party Conduct May Lead to Title IX Liability

In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed that Title IX provides adequate notice to federal funding recipients of their responsibility to respond to known sexual harassment if they have control over...more

PAC Issues Binding Opinion Finding in Favor of Public Body’s Use of the Attorney-Client FOIA Exemption

In its first binding opinion of the year, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) provides further clarity to the attorney-client privilege exemption under Section 7(1)(m) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, the...more

Bill to End Forced Arbitration in Sexual Misconduct Cases Passes in U.S. House and Senate

This morning, the United States Senate passed a bill creating the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.” The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this week, meaning...more

New Title IX Series: Refresher on the Roles and Responsibilities of Your Title IX Team

As we noted in our last blog post, the Biden administration recently announced plans to propose amendments to the Title IX regulations by April 2022. While this deadline is fast approaching, before you start thinking about...more

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case of Former Football Coach Who Prayed on the Field after School District Told Him No

In 2019, we reported on the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District involving a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state who was placed on administrative leave by his public school district for praying...more

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Two Higher Education Affirmative Action Cases in Upcoming Term

The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that it would again consider the role race plays in college admissions by taking up two cases where race-conscious admissions policies are at issue. ...more

Illinois Supreme Court Issues Decision Upholding Private and Personal Redactions Under FOIA

Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the FOIA, upholding a public body’s redaction of traffic accident reports pursuant to Sections 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of the FOIA....more

Illinois PAC Issues Binding Decision Authorizing Remote Meetings Under the OMA

In a rare binding opinion, the Public Access Counselor (PAC)—the division of the Attorney General that reviews appeals regarding the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA)—issued a new binding...more

Illinois Adopts New Laws Targeting Appropriate Staff-Student Boundaries and Prevention of Sexual Abuse in Schools

Governor Pritzker recently signed Public Act 102-0676 (HB 1975) into law, which addresses sexual abuse prevention in schools. The new law is intended to address staff-student boundaries and appropriate professional conduct,...more

ISBE Releases New Rules and Goals & Benchmarks Regarding Use of Isolated Time Out, Time Out, and Physical Restraint

Over the summer, we reported on the passage of Public Act 102-0339, which aims to reduce and the use of time out, isolated time out, and physical restraint (referred to herein as “restrictive interventions”) in schools. ...more

105 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 5

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide