Law School By Laptop
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 236: Coping with COVID-19 in Law School
School aged children lost much in the pandemic, including critical learning time in the classroom, social development, mental health, extracurricular activities, and much more. According to a 2023 study published in the...more
A.N. v. Upper Merion Area School District, 2022 WL 3371612 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 16, 2022). The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld a hearing officer’s award of 5.5 hours of compensatory...more
While the great majority of schools will not be requiring their students or staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this coming school year, that’s not necessarily true for schools in the Northeast and on the West Coast....more
In this third blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on an issue of special importance during and subsequent to...more
In this second blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on two questions relevant to this time of transition and...more
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) published a Question and Answer document to advise school districts on returning to in-person instruction. The OSERS Q&A...more
Last week, ISBE published long-awaited guidance related to remote learning for the 2021-2022 school year. We have been anticipating this guidance since early in the summer when ISBE announced that school would, with limited...more
On July 1, 2021, several new U.S. Department of Education (Department) final regulations resulting from its 2019-20 “Distance Education and Innovation” negotiated rulemaking went into legal effect, although certain of these...more
The college experience has changed a lot over the past year. Since the COVID -19 pandemic began, millions of students across the country have had their first taste of 100% online classes as well as the new territory of online...more
According to UNESCO, concerns related to COVID-19 led to school closures that impacted nearly 80% of the world’s student population. School closures led many universities to move away from in-person learning towards remote...more
In this immediate post-COVID-19 education landscape in which schools are contemplating a full return to in-person instruction, schools are also grappling with the stark realities of achievement gaps and the disproportionate...more
A year after COVID-19 forced school systems to shutter their doors and transform overnight to a new model of remote learning, they are now facing a new challenge -- educating and supporting students while they transition to a...more
There is no doubt that every school faced unprecedented challenges over the last year. Summer break is a great time for private and independent schools to reset and plan for the next school year and beyond, taking into...more
On May 13, 2021, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights published a Q&A on Civil Rights and School Reopening in the COVID-19 Environment. ...more
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students and professors have all had to adapt to online teaching and learning. Among the many challenges that this adjustment has presented is the increased specter of online cheating. ...more
Over the last 20 years, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram have changed the way we connect with friends and family, engage in business, and socialize. As schools increase their use of...more
2020 has been a tumultuous year, but it has taught us to better prepare for the future and how to better enable schools to maintain their operations in the face of these unprecedented challenges. As schools faced shutdown...more
To the shock of no one, the guidance concerning the use of in-person, “hybrid” and remote learning models in the Connecticut schools during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. This is not completely...more
Parents, students, and educators are navigating a novel educational landscape. Some schools are relying on a virtual model that requires significant technological involvement, others have opened up their facilities for...more
Now that many of us have been doing some form of remote learning for close to 7 months, we are starting to see hearing officers and state agencies weigh in to resolve complaints related to the appropriateness of remote...more
As schools throughout New England finalize their plans for the fall semester, many employees are faced with an ongoing need to care or facilitate education for their school-aged children on a part-time or even full-time...more
The U.S. DOL issued additional guidance on August 27, 2020 as to when employees may use paid Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) leave to care for their children under different COVID-related school models. ...more
The FEA won round one of an almost certain battle that will head to the Florida Supreme Court on Governor DeSantis’ mandate to reopen schools in a brick and mortar fashion with DOE ORDER NO. 2020-E0-06, issued on July 6....more
ISBE released a comprehensive guidance document today with learning recommendations for the return to school this fall. In a letter introducing this document...more
ISBE and IDPH recently released their guidance related to Starting the 2020-21 School Year. The guidance addresses a broad range of topics, including some suggestions related to special education. The following week ISBE...more