Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in its first case ever to address the discipline of students for speech occurring off-campus, on their own time, and online. ...more
4/29/2021
/ Code of Conduct ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Mahanoy Area School District v B.L. ,
Online Platforms ,
Oral Argument ,
Political Speech ,
SCOTUS ,
Snapchat ,
Student Speech ,
Students ,
Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School Dist.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision allowing transgender high school students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identities. The High Court’s rebuff means the lower...more
12/10/2020
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) replaced the 2016 Clery Act Handbook (Handbook) with the new Clery Act Appendix for FSA Handbook (Appendix). The Appendix rescinds previous ED guidance interpreting Clery Act...more
Schools planning for students to return to campus in person this fall are confronting many significant challenges, including how to support students who may need physical restraint while also maintaining safe practices to...more
As you are all well aware by now, the U.S. Department of Education recently issued its final Title IX regulations. While we continue to wade through the over 2,000-page document issued by the ED (consisting of the new...more
5/21/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Training Requirements ,
Universities
One of the biggest changes from the new Title IX regulations issued by the Department of Education last week is that, beginning in August 2020, OCR’s complaint findings will be based on standards very similar to those used by...more
5/20/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
OCR ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
After almost one-and-a-half years since issuing its original proposed rule, the U.S. Department of Education has issued final Title IX regulations effective August 14, 2020. Although analyzing the changes will take some time,...more
5/8/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Deregulation ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
In a previous post, we forecasted further guidance from ISBE and the U.S. Department of Education to provide additional clarity for schools in regard to how to best serve students with disabilities during school closures as a...more
Last fall, in response to serious concerns raised about the use of isolated time out and physical restraint in schools, ISBE issued emergency rules to limit the use of those behavior management techniques. ...more
As the issues related to the mandated school closures in response to the COVID-19 crisis continue to rapidly evolve, the Governor extended the closure through April 7, and in all likelihood, Illinois schools will remain...more
3/31/2020
/ Act of God ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
FERPA ,
IDEA ,
ISBE ,
School Closures ,
Special Education ,
Student Enrollment ,
Student Records ,
Students
In the wake of Governor Pritzker’s recent order requiring all Illinois schools to close between March 17 and March 30, many schools and school districts have been left guessing how to best serve students with disabilities and...more
3/17/2020
/ Attendance ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Department of Education ,
Distance Learning ,
Educational Institutions ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
Public Health ,
School Closures ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
State and Local Government ,
Students
In Illinois, the School Safety Drill Act requires K-12 public and private educational facilities to conduct several types of safety drills, including law enforcement drills, to address potential evacuation or lock-down...more
3/11/2020
/ Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Response ,
Mass Shootings ,
Private Schools ,
Public Safety ,
Public Schools ,
Risk Management ,
Safety Management Systems ,
Safety Precautions ,
Safety Training ,
School Districts ,
School Safety ,
School Shootings ,
Students
Cyberbullying is nothing new. A majority of teens have experienced the phenomenon and college campuses certainly are not immune. Just because something is common does not make it simple to deal with, however. And this is...more
3/3/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Cyberbullying ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Harassment ,
Internet Privacy ,
OCR ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Students ,
Title IX
After receiving and reviewing questions and concerns from stakeholders regarding the practical implications of its emergency rules on the use of time out and physical restraint, the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”)...more
1/10/2020
/ Child Abuse ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Rule ,
ISBE ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Restraints ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
Students
Within the last few weeks, there have been significant changes to the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) rules regarding time out and physical restraint. First, ISBE issued emergency rules, then it...more
1/10/2020
/ Child Abuse ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Rule ,
ISBE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Restraints ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
Students ,
Training Requirements
The Title IX world is abuzz with expectation about the release of regulations from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The general consensus is that even if the Department makes some changes based on...more
12/10/2019
/ Clery Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Statutory Violations ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities ,
VAWA
On October 17, 2019, Franczek P.C. Special Education team members Dana Fattore Crumley and Emily Tulloch presented at the IAASE 2019 Fall Conference on Fighting Friendly Fire in your IEP: Avoiding Internal Challenges to IDEA...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on October 8 in three closely watched cases addressing whether Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination “because of … sex,” covers discrimination based on LGBT...more
10/17/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Athletes ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Oral Argument ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Students ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
You know from our previous post regarding recent legislation in Illinois, we have had our eye on House Bill 3586, which has been awaiting the Governor’s signature since June. Well, the time has come; Governor Pritzker signed...more
You would be forgiven if you can’t keep up with the many changes in the Illinois laws governing education at back-to-school time this year. As if Illinois special educators and administrators don’t have enough to do already,...more
10/1/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Emergency Access ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Response ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Minor Children ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
School Districts ,
School Policies ,
Students
Recent raids by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Mississippi are garnering national attention. The raids were conducted on the first day of school in the area, with hundreds of children coming...more
8/14/2019
/ Deportation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Inspections ,
Minor Children ,
Raids ,
Refugees ,
Students ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
On June 1, 2019, the Illinois House voted to pass House Bill 2627, which would amend the Illinois School Code to require schools to notify parents and take reasonable steps to include parents or school mental health...more
One of our favorite sources for Franczek email alerts is our readers, and we recently received a question from a Twitter follower about the legal considerations related to randomized dog searched in public schools. ...more