We saw a flurry of activity this week from the Supreme Court, with rulings that employers and educational institutions should be aware of. Specifically, the Supreme Court ruled in the Trump Administrations’ favor on several...more
4/14/2025
/ Appeals ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration
It was another big week for the Department of Education, with President Trump signing an Executive Order on Thursday instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take actions to “close” the Department. President Trump’s...more
3/24/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
OCR ,
Student Loans ,
Title VI ,
Trump Administration
Headlines this week largely focused on the Department of Education, and rightfully so. As announced on Tuesday, President Trump’s administration terminated over 1,300 Department of Education employees this week – nearly 50%...more
3/18/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
OCR ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
Each week as the new presidential administration takes shape, we get a clearer picture of how its priorities will affect federal agencies, and how those changes will affect the employers and educational institutions that...more
2/19/2025
/ Colleges ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
NLRB ,
OCR ,
Student Athletes ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
As we shared in a previous alert, in early February, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which restricts transgender women and girls from participating in women’s athletic...more
Last week was another busy week for the White House, with several notable Executive Orders and more agency leadership changes. As we reported in our previous Week in Review, these sweeping changes are expected given the new...more
2/11/2025
/ Department of Education ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Illinois ,
Immigration ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRB ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Some of us measure our year in weeks, months, or, for the readers of this article, likely by the school calendar. The Supreme Court, however, has its own measurement. The Court operates, hears cases, and issues rulings each...more
2/6/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Charter Schools ,
Colleges ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Protection ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Students ,
Transgender ,
Universities
It is no secret that whenever there is a change in the Oval Office it is common for the incoming administration to implement quick and widespread changes to effectuate campaign promises. Indeed, in modern times, newly elected...more
1/31/2025
/ Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Gender Identity ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Judge John C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an opinion and order vacating the Final Rule that implemented the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The decision by Judge Reeves has the...more
In a case that serves as a healthy reminder of the importance of drafting and abiding by clear disciplinary policies, an Illinois Appellate Court recently held that a College did not violate a student’s due process rights...more
12/10/2019
/ Appeals ,
Code of Conduct ,
Colleges ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students
On Tuesday, the Board of Governors of the NCAA unanimously voted to reverse its longstanding policy by permitting students participating in athletics to benefit from the use of their names, images, and likenesses in licensing...more
10/31/2019
/ Board of Governors ,
Broadcasting ,
Bylaws ,
Colleges ,
Endorsements ,
Fair Compensation ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Sales ,
Student Athletes ,
Universities
With the number of students who identify as gender non-conforming on the rise, many educators have questions regarding the supports and services that may be available to such students. This year at IAASE, Jennifer Smith and...more
10/25/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Gender Identity ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
LGBTQ ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
Franczek P.C. is pleased to announce the publication of its annual Legislative Update for schools. With the flood of legislative changes in Illinois this year, it is more imperative than ever for education stakeholders to...more
Franczek P.C. is pleased to announce the publication of its annual Legislative Update for schools. With the flood of legislative changes in Illinois this year, it is more imperative than ever for education stakeholders to...more
10/2/2019
/ Cannabis Products ,
Charter Schools ,
Educational Institutions ,
FOIA ,
Human Rights ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Marijuana ,
Mental Health ,
Military Service Members ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Public Accommodation ,
Public Acts ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safety Precautions ,
Salary/Wage History ,
School Boards ,
School Districts ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Offenders ,
Special Education ,
State Budgets ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Threat Management ,
Wage and Hour
The seemingly never-ending debate over private sector college- and university-student employment status continues. On Friday, September 20, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced its intent to propose a rule...more
9/30/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Colleges ,
Comment Period ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Graduate Students ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Student Employees ,
Students ,
Teaching Assistants ,
Unions ,
Universities
We previously reported, in 2016, that the Obama-era National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in Columbia University that paved the way for graduate students to unionize at private higher education...more
The flurry of activity surrounding the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) continues. An Illinois Appellate Court once again reviewed whether grand jury records may be disclosed under...more
February was a busy month for decisions about the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA” or the “Act”). ...more
In a recent decision, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC), which enforces the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA), found that a school district violated the OMA when it limited the public comment period...more
A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision addressed the question of whether School Resource Officers (“SROs”) employed by school districts are entitled to district-paid disability and health insurance benefits for “law...more
The U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) is expected to release proposed regulations related to Title IX shortly. While the proposed regulations have not been officially released, a leaked draft indicates significant changes...more
In a rare move, an Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld sanctions against a repeat FOIA litigant in Garlick v. Bloomingdale Township. ...more
The following is a summary of the 2018 legislative changes affecting school districts.
...more
9/20/2018
/ Attendance ,
Charter Schools ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Educational Institutions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pensions ,
Property Tax ,
Public Finance ,
Salaried Employees ,
School Districts ,
School Transportation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
Student Loans ,
Students Bill of Rights ,
Teachers ,
Wage and Hour
Recently, an Illinois Court of Appeals issued a decision mandating disclosure of assessment records from the Cook County Assessor’s Office to the Chicago Tribune under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)....more
7/17/2018
/ Appeals ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Property Tax ,
Property Valuation ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Records ,
Real Estate Market ,
Request For Information ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Assessment ,
Taxation
The United States Supreme Court concluded its 2017-2018 term with a bang, issuing decisions in several highly publicized cases impacting labor and employment, including Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis and Janus v. AFSCME. This...more
7/16/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
CNH Industrial N.V. v Reese ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Benefits ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
Immigration Reform ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Nominations ,
Over-Time ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v Hawaii ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Vesting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies