Matthew Hoffman at Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Federal Grant Expenditures Properly Excluded From Charter Tuition Calculations

Esperanza Academy Charter School v. The School District of Philadelphia, 2024 WL 4875053 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2024). (Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court held that school districts’ deductions of federal grant expenditures from charter...more

3/14/2025 / Charter Schools , Federal Funding , Federal Grants , School Districts , Tuition

Key Legislative Changes for Pennsylvania Schools

The General Assembly and Governor Shapiro recently enacted various legislation affecting school entities. The following is a brief summary of those developments....more

10/3/2024 / New Legislation , Public Schools , Residency Requirements , Residency Status , School Districts , Security Standards , Students

Staffing Agency Employee Considered a School District Employee for Title VII Claim

In 2022, Khalil Larkin worked for a staffing agency, U.S. Medical, which contracted with Upper Darby School District to provide temporary staffing to the school district. U.S. Medical placed Larkin at Beverly Hills Middle...more

3/14/2024 / Control Test , Employment Litigation , Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) , Hiring & Firing , Hostile Environment , Race Discrimination , Retaliation , Staffing Agencies , Title VII

Confidentiality Provision of Educator Discipline Act Ruled Unconstitutional

Pennsylvania’s Educator Discipline Act governs educator misconduct complaints filed with the Department of Education for investigation and, if warranted, discipline. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2070.9. Once a misconduct complaint is...more

1/30/2024 / Administrative Hearings , Confidential Information , Criminal Prosecution , Department of Education , Disciplinary Proceedings , Educational Institutions , Employee Misconduct , First Amendment , Misdemeanors , Professional Disciplinary Actions , Public Schools , School Districts , Settlement Agreements , Strict Scrutiny Standard , Teachers , Unconstitutional Condition

School District Subject to Suit for Manner of Completing Act 168 (“Pass the Trash”) Form

Dale McClendon v. The School District of Philadelphia, 2023 WL 4237080 (E.D. Pa 2023). (Federal court held that a school district was subject to due process and breach of contract claims for the manner in which it completed a...more

11/10/2023 / Breach of Contract , Child Abuse , Criminal Prosecution , Defamation , Due Process , Employer Liability Issues , Hiring & Firing , Internal Investigations , Non-Disparagement Provisions , Resignation , School Districts , Special Education

Teacher Discharged for Social Media Posts

In the Matter of Arbitration Between Milton Area Education Association and Milton Area School District (Talarico 2022) (Arbitrator sustains discharge of teacher for inappropriate social media posts)....more

9/22/2023 / Arbitration , Disciplinary Proceedings , Employee Misconduct , Employment Litigation , Employment Policies , Hiring & Firing , Social Media , Termination

Closing A School Building Does Not Implicate Due Process or Fiduciary Rights

Save Our Saltsburg Schools v. River Valley School District, No. 1140 C.D. 2021 (Pa.Cmwlth. November 7, 2022) (Commonwealth Court rejects community group’s efforts to invalidate school district’s decision to close a school...more

3/6/2023 / Administrative Procedure , Administrative Proceedings , Board of Directors , Due Process , Fiduciary Duty , Public Schools , School Districts

Inconsistent Practice of Salary Schedule Placement for New Employees Can Lead to Equal Pay Claim

Rebecca Cartee-Haring v. Central Bucks School District, Civil Action No. 20-1995 (E.D. Pa. 8/24/22) (A federal court grants certification of a collective action by female teachers pursuing an Equal Pay Act claim for...more

12/8/2022 / Class Certification , Collective Actions , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Litigation , Equal Pay , Equal Pay Act , Equal Protection , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) , Gender-Based Pay Discrimination , Public Schools , School Districts , Sex Discrimination , Teachers , Unfair Labor Practices , Wage and Hour

High School Football Coach’s Mid-Field, Post-Game Prayer Ruled Protected Speech

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. __ (2022) (The United States Supreme Court concludes that a coach praying at mid-field following a high school football game was engaged in private religious expression...more

9/26/2022 / Adverse Employment Action , Coaches , Constitutional Challenges , Educational Institutions , First Amendment , Free Exercise Clause , Free Speech , Kennedy v. Bremerton School District , Prayer , Public Employees , Religious Expression , School Districts , SCOTUS

“Civility” Policy for Public Participation at School Board Meetings Found Unconstitutionally Vague

Marshall v. Amuso, No. 21-CV-4336 (E.D.Pa. November 17, 2021). (Federal court concludes that school board policy governing public participation at school board meetings was unconstitutionally vague and an infringement on free...more

3/3/2022 / Civility , Constitutional Challenges , First Amendment , Free Speech , Offensive Language , Public Comment , Public Meetings , School Boards , School Districts , Sunshine Act

Parental Challenge to School District Compliance with State Mask Mandate Rejected

Oberheim v. Bason, No. 4:21-CV-01566 (M.D.Pa.). (Federal court rejects parents’ request for an injunction to stop school district’s compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Health mask mandate). Background - As in...more

11/22/2021 / Coronavirus/COVID-19 , Employment Policies , Health and Safety , Infectious Diseases , Masks , School Districts , Workplace Safety

Sunshine Law Amendments to Require Prior Public Notice of Official Actions at Board Meetings

On June 30, 2021, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 65 of 2021, amending the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act to establish new public notice requirements applicable to meetings of school districts’ boards of school directors....more

7/14/2021 / Amended Legislation , Board Meetings , Governor Wolf , Notice Requirements , Public Schools , School Boards , School Districts , Sunshine Act

Dissident Board Member Not Deprived of Civil Rights by Cold Shoulder of Majority

Kathleen Wright Croft v. Donegal Township, 2021 WL 1110567 (W.D. Pa. 2021) (A township supervisor’s motion for a preliminary injunction against her fellow supervisors was denied upon finding that she was not deprived of...more

6/28/2021 / Board Members , Due Process , Equal Protection , First Amendment , Municipalities , Preliminary Injunctions , Public Officials , Retaliation , State and Local Government , Sunshine Act

School District Effort to Prohibit Students' Political Attire Enjoined

Morgan v. Mifflin County School District, Case No. 1:2–CV-01930 (M.D. Pa. 2020). The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued a restraining order enjoining a school district policy...more

4/22/2021 / Dress Codes , First Amendment , Fourteenth Amendment , Free Speech , Political Speech , Public Schools , Restraining Orders , School Districts

Dazed and Confused: What School Districts Should Know About Legalized Medical Marijuana

Under Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”), 35 Pa. C.S.A. §10231.101, et seq., individuals with certain serious medical conditions can apply for a medical marijuana card from the Pennsylvania Department of Health....more

10/10/2019 / Commercial Driving Licenses , Controlled Substances Act , Department of Transportation (DOT) , Discipline , Drug Testing , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Job Applicants , Job Offers , Medical Marijuana , School Districts , State Health Departments , Students

Municipality’s Retaliation against Newspaper for Unfavorable Press Leads to Civil Rights Claim

Press and Journal, Inc. v. Borough of Middletown, Civil Action No. 1:18-CV-2064 (M.D. Pa. 2018) (Borough faces a civil rights claim for retaliation against newspaper for unfavorable press coverage). BACKGROUND - The...more

6/12/2019 / Advertising , Constitutional Challenges , First Amendment , Free Speech , Government Entities , Independent Contractors , Motion to Dismiss , Municipalities , Newspapers , Public Employees , Retaliation , Service Contracts

Parent’s Legal Ownership of Residence Defeats Claim of Homeless Status

D.C. ex rel. C.C. and M.C. vs. Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, 2018 WL 3968866 (E.D. Pa. August 18, 2018) (Federal district court concludes that children did not qualify for continued enrollment as “homeless” children...more

1/28/2019 / Homeless Issues , Joint Ownership , Minors , Primary Residence , Residency Status , Residential Property Owners , Summary Judgment

Legislation Update Affecting Schools

The General Assembly and Governor Wolfe recently enacted various legislation affecting school entities. The following is a brief summary of those developments....more

11/13/2018 / General Assembly , Governor Wolf , New Legislation , Public Schools

Direct Communication to Employees of Status of Negotiations Is Not An Unfair Labor Practice

Erie County Technical School v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, 1818 C.D. 2016 (2017) (Commonwealth Court concluded that an employer’s direct communication with its employees concerning the status of ongoing negotiations...more

5/7/2018 / Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) , Contract Negotiations , Contract Terms , Labor Relations , Unfair Labor Practices , Unions , Workplace Communication

Citizen’s Suit Against Individual School Directors For Categorical Ban From Attending Future School Board Meetings Dismissed

Barna v. Board of School Directors of the Panther Valley School District, Case No. 15-3904 (3d Cir. 2017). The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a citizen’s suit against individual...more

1/30/2018 / Board Meetings , Directors , Dismissals , First Amendment , School Bonds

Students’ Privacy Claims Fail to Upend School District’s Transgender Restroom Policy

Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, 2017 WL 3675418 (E.D. Pa. 2017) (A Pennsylvania federal court denied a motion for a preliminary injunction in a case brought by four students (plaintiffs) in opposition to school policy...more

9/13/2017 / Gender Identity , Motion for Relief , Public Schools , School Restrooms , Student Privacy , Transgender

Federal Court Allows Title IX Claim to Proceed Based Upon Allegations That Student Harassed By Peers for Failure to Conform to...

Russell Bittendender, et ux. v. Bangor Area School District, Case No. 15-6465 (E.D. Pa. 2017). The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania refused to dismiss a complaint alleging that a school...more

7/17/2017 / Bullying , Educational Institutions , Gender Identity , Harassment , Motion to Dismiss , Public Schools , Sexual Harassment , Sexual Orientation Discrimination , Title IX

Matthew Hoffman

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

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