One of the many worries that I have as a school attorney is when school board members use their e-mail account to discuss board business. As you may know, such conduct can run afoul of Connecticut’s Freedom of Information...more
Congratulations on your election to the board of education and thank you for volunteering your time to your community. As you begin to embark on your board journey you will unfortunately, find that way too much of your time...more
As the summer (and your vacation) becomes a distant memory, and the days get shorter and colder, I’ll bet you have had passing thoughts about changes to Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act’s (“FOIA”), especially in light...more
11/7/2023
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FOIA ,
Notice Requirements ,
Open Records ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Comment ,
Public Employees ,
Public Meetings ,
Public Records ,
Request For Information ,
School Boards ,
School Districts
To follow-up on our annual School Law legislative update, over the next few weeks we will be highlighting and analyzing the most important developments from this year’s session of the General Assembly that Connecticut K-12...more
8/22/2023
/ Charter Schools ,
Connecticut ,
Disabled Children ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
General Assembly ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Section 504 ,
Special Education ,
Students
Last week Pullman & Comley released its annual comprehensive summary of legislation affecting Connecticut schools. Included here is our initial take on the key policy and procedural impacts as a result of this year’s...more
8/15/2023
/ Bullying ,
Connecticut ,
Educational Institutions ,
Expulsion ,
General Assembly ,
Harassment ,
Libraries ,
Policies and Procedures ,
School Districts ,
School Suspension ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Title IX
The General Assembly’s Education Committee likely finished up its work for this legislative session and has approved a plethora of bills. Here is a summary of these bills (which now await action by the full General...more
4/22/2022
/ Connecticut ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Literacy ,
General Assembly ,
Mental Health ,
Minor Children ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remote Learning ,
School Districts ,
Students ,
Teachers
In my last column, The FOIA and the Pandemic: New (temporary?) Provisions on “Remote” and “Hybrid” Meetings for Public Agencies, I provided a summary of the “budget implementer” bill that amended Connecticut’s Freedom of...more
The 2021 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on June 9, 2021, but the primary source of action on education law issues was a special session of the General Assembly and ensuing “budget implementer”...more
8/10/2021
/ Charter Schools ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
General Assembly ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Native American Issues ,
Public Sector Unions ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Team Mascots ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
On April 6, 2021, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 10E, which pertains to 1) absentee voting, and 2) municipal and regional school district budget adoption timelines. ABSENTEE BALLOTS: Executive Order 10E largely...more
President Trump has just signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES” Act). We are still analyzing the full impact of the Act, but here is a brief summary of what it means to the public schools,...more
Among other things, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) grants parents access to educational and related records concerning their child. Under FERPA, “education records” are broadly defined as...more
12/24/2019
/ Electronic Communications ,
Electronic Records ,
Email ,
FERPA ,
FOIA ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
Student Privacy ,
Student Records ,
Students
Do We Really Have To Deal With All of These FOIA Requests (And Are We Obliged To Deal With “Vexatious Requesters”)? -
As an attorney representing school districts and other public agencies, I often hear from folks who are...more
As you are aware from these pages, Connecticut’s General Assembly produced a plethora of bills affecting the schools during its 2019 regular session. As they say in late night TV infomercials, yes, there’s more. In a brief...more
The 2019 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on June 5, 2019. The legislature passed significant labor and employment legislation that addressed, inter alia, remedies for sexual harassment and...more
We are approaching a time of year where a board of education may have to deal with its long time and (hopefully) beloved superintendent deciding to retire or otherwise move on to another chapter in his or her life. Any...more
At its March 25, 2019 meeting, the General Assembly’s Education Committee continued its hyperkinetic work by approving another flurry of bills. The following is a brief summary of the bills that the Committee voted favorably...more
At its March 6, 2019 and March 15, 2019 meetings, the General Assembly’s Education Committee began the process of approving bills. The following is a brief discussion and summary of the bills that the Committee voted...more
On Friday, March 1, 2019, the General Assembly’s Education Committee will conduct a public hearing, which will take place at 11:00 A.M. in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building. A particular focus of this hearing will...more
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly passed bills that, among other things: (1) revise the Student Data Privacy Act; (2) address budgetary issues stemming from attempts at reducing and rescinding...more
8/14/2018
/ Data Privacy ,
FOIA ,
Food Allergies ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Right to Privacy ,
Salary/Wage History ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
State Budgets ,
Teachers ,
Unemployment Compensation System
In 2017, our firm published a summary of new legislation affecting Connecticut’s schools and public sector employers. However, the 2017 “regular session” of the Connecticut General Assembly was not the final word. Due to the...more
1/15/2018
/ Background Checks ,
Budgets ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Grants ,
Medicaid ,
Public Employers ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
Tax Reform ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
Last Friday (August 11, 2017), the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a decision garnering significant press attention in which it ruled that 1) Connecticut public policy imposes a duty upon schools to warn or protect against...more
The Connecticut General Assembly enacted a number of laws during its 2017 regular session that will impact Connecticut schools. Among other things, bills have been enacted that: (1) “repeal and replace” last year’s radical...more
The 2017 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded at midnight, June 7, 2017, without accomplishing its most important task (passing a budget). As such, the General Assembly will eventually have to convene...more
We had written earlier about the proposed bills that the General Assembly’s Education Committee voted favorably on and advanced out of committee at its March 8, 2017 meeting. The Committee subsequently voted favorably on a...more
5/3/2017
/ Budgets ,
Desegregation ,
Education Reform ,
Electronic Devices ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
General Assembly ,
Public Records ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
State Aid ,
Training
On January 4, the 2017 session of the Connecticut General Assembly began. The session is scheduled to adjourn on June 7, 2017. One can assume that a plethora of proposed bills affecting Connecticut school districts will be...more