PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Gavels & Gowns - What’s Next in VA K-12 Education? An Interview with Scott Brabrand, Executive Director of VASS
Serving the Diverse Needs of Children through Education Law: On Record PR
Orange County Board of Education Meeting Discusses Program for Homeless Youth and Foster Youth of Orange County
The Transformation of Education in Florida
School District Update Podcast: Hiring H-1B Teachers in 2021-2022
Employment Law Now V-96- LOTS of Big Employment Law Developments
Top 10 Actions (or Inactions), that Spur Special Education Impartial Hearing Requests for School Districts
A Moment of Simple Justice - Vaccines
Jason Maloni on Schools and Education
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a number of federal court decisions involving disability discrimination claims from teachers who requested full-time remote work as an accommodation for compromised immune systems or other...more
Our July update includes cases on the dismissal of a devout Christian dismissed for gross misconduct for social media criticism of pro-LGBTQ+ teaching at schools, allowances that tribunals should make to litigants in person...more
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, No. 21-887, opening the door for future claims against schools for compensatory monetary damages. In its unanimous opinion, the Supreme...more
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a deaf student in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 143 S. Ct. 81 (U.S. 2022), where the Court held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) exhaustion...more
On March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling that could significantly impact how special education claims against public school districts are litigated. In Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, the Court...more
Can public school children with disabilities sue their schools for violations of the federal antidiscrimination statutes and collect compensatory damages before exhausting their administrative remedies under the Individuals...more
On March 21, 2023, the Supreme Court decided Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, No. 21-887, holding that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA) exhaustion requirement, 20 U.S.C. § 1415(l), does not preclude an...more
While the backlog of argued cases pending decision has been growing substantially, the Court rendered only one opinion today, and it was unanimous....more
A dizzying number of laws, executive orders and regulations regarding masks in schools have found their way to our nation’s courts. Some states are requiring students to mask up in schools (e.g., California and New York),...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
At the heart of the fight for disability rights is the belief that equitable access should be granted in all spaces where life exists. The Americans with Disabilities Act put in place a formal mechanism for protecting the...more
OCR recently published a Q&A document providing expectations for compliance with civil rights laws during the pandemic. While OCR is not responsible for enforcing the IDEA, it is responsible for Section 504. Because students...more
When you get a request for a service animal in school, your mind may race with concerns. What if students or staff are allergic? Is the dog going to be a distraction for other students? Where will the dog relieve itself?...more
You would be forgiven if you can’t keep up with the many changes in the Illinois laws governing education at back-to-school time this year. As if Illinois special educators and administrators don’t have enough to do already,...more
Just when private schools were becoming relatively knowledgeable about their obligation to allow a disabled student’s service animal on their premises, they started getting requests from employees to have their emotional...more
A recent decision from a federal court in Illinois has opened the door to significant debate regarding the use of medical marijuana in a school setting. The Schaumburg, IL School District has been ordered to allow an...more
On February 24, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13777. This order required Federal agencies to evaluate their existing regulations and make recommendations to the agency head regarding their repeal, replacement,...more
School officials often receive requests from students with disabilities to bring “service animals” and “assistance animals” on campus as an accommodation. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC that an employee's use of medical marijuana to treat a qualified disability may be a reasonable accommodation under...more
A Connecticut Superior Court judge has issued what might be the first decision in the country applying the United States Supreme Court’s recent test for determining whether a party is required to exhaust the administrative...more
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education published regulations to implement Rosa’s Law, legislation enacted in 2010 to replace the term “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” in federal laws. These laws include...more
As my colleague Rachel Ginsburg aptly foretold, Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities [“CHRO”] has indicated an interest in involving itself with discrimination claims concerning the schools. A recent...more
The family of a girl with cerebral palsy may sue her former school district for refusing to allow her service dog as a companion in school, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The Michigan case revolved around whether the...more
The decades-old standard for what constitutes a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities was changed in an opinion issued this week by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court created a new standard in Endrew...more
In Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, No. 15-497, 2017 WL 685533 (U.S. Feb. 22, 2017), the United States Supreme Court held that administrative exhaustion under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was unnecessary...more