Teacher tenure areas and seniority rights of certified employees are governed by state law and regulation. A recent Commissioner of Education decision provides a good reminder of the obligation to follow these requirements....more
A decision issued by the Commissioner of Education on October 18, 2022, clarifies that school districts may not use email as the sole means to deliver a short-term suspension notice in the absence of prior parent consent to...more
Three recent decisions of the Commissioner of Education illustrate an increasing lack of tolerance for board member misconduct.
A board member who violates his/her oath of office, the code of conduct or ethics or who...more
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the U.S. Department of Education released for public comment on June 23, 2022 proposed changes to the Title IX regulations applicable to elementary and secondary schools, as...more
7/11/2022
/ Department of Education ,
Federal Register ,
Hostile Environment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Public Schools ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Training
The New York Gender Recognition Act took effect on December 21, 2021. School district and BOCES recordkeeping protocols and procedures must be updated to verify compliance with the Act.
Name Change: The Act amended New...more
UPDATED January 27, 2022 We have learned from the New York State Attorney General’s office that the decision regarding whether or not the current stay will remain in place pending the decision on the appeal of the Nassau...more
On May 3, 2021, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced increased capacity limits for indoor and outdoor gatherings, which will affect the number of spectators allowed at school sporting events. On May 10, 2021, the state’s...more
On April 28, 2021, the Board of Regents amended Section 100.2(c) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to implement Erin’s Law (New York Education law Section 803-b). Erin’s Law was enacted, effective July 1,...more
Qualified voters for the 2021 School District Elections can now apply for an absentee ballot when they are unable to appear personally at the polling place because there is a risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 or any...more
On December 23, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed Assembly Bill A5240A into law, requiring, in part, that school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in New York state designate all single-occupancy...more
Executive Order 202.4, as extended, previously required local governments to allow non-essential personnel to be able to work from home or take leave without charging accruals. It further required such number of...more
Many milestones that mark students’ passage through high school have been canceled this year. Proms, spring parties, plays and field trips have been shelved, and classes held online indefinitely. School districts, as well as...more
As health care providers and professionals, you know that today’s regulatory environment involves multiple and sometimes overlapping frameworks that regulate and protect patient health information. Our recent Legal Alert...more
1/30/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Educational Institutions ,
FERPA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Information Sharing ,
Medical Records ,
New Guidance ,
PHI ,
Public Schools ,
Student Privacy ,
Student Records ,
Students ,
Universities
January 14, 2020, the Board of Regents formally adopted Part 121 to the Commissioner’s Regulations to implement Education Law § 2-d. The regulation will become effective January 29, 2020. This regulation primarily addresses...more
1/15/2020
/ Board of Regents ,
Contract Amendments ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Processors ,
Data Protection ,
Data Protection Officers (DPOs) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
New Regulations ,
NIST ,
Privacy Policy ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
Software ,
State Education Departments ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Vendors
Today, the U.S. Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released updated joint guidance regarding the application of the Family Educational Rights and...more
Governor Cuomo signed into law on August 6, 2019 legislation that amends the school board powers and duties sections of the education law, effective September 5, 2019, to authorize a school district board of education in its...more
Effective October 9, 2018, every employer in New York state, regardless of size, must adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and provide annually to all employees a training program that each equals or exceeds the...more
Effective April 12, 2018, Education Law § 908, entitled “Prohibition against meal shaming,” was added as part of the budget to require all public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools in New York state...more