Coronavirus in the Workplace - December 1, 2020
When Sick Leave Runs Out—Managing Employee Absences and Balancing Legal Obligations
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 99: Tips for Taking an Online Bar Exam
Nota Bene Episode 90: U.S. Q3 Check In: Stimulus, Relief, Election, and Direction with Elizabeth Frazee and Jonathan Meyer
How School Reopening Plans May Affect Paid Leave for Working Parents and Employers by Judy Garner
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 96: COVID-19 Bar Exam Update - July 2, 2020
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 254: Starting Law School Successfully During a Pandemic
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 252: Navigating the Law School Landscape in Light of COVID-19 (w/Anna Ivey)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 249: Changes to the LSAT Due to COVID-19 (with Steve Schwartz)
Law School By Laptop
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 242: COVID-19 Considerations for (Potentially) Incoming 1Ls
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 240: Transitioning to Open Book Take-Home Exams
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 236: Coping with COVID-19 in Law School
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, hundreds of lawsuits (many styled as class actions) have been filed by college and university students seeking tuition and fee refunds due to campus closures during the Spring 2020 semester....more
Massachusetts colleges and universities received some good news recently as Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill that limits their liability for certain tuition and fee refund claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic....more
On October 4, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) commenced the first of five negotiated rulemaking sessions. The five sessions are focused on the federal student financial aid programs authorized under Title IV of...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
It is hard to believe that it has been nine months since the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health issued their Part 3 – Transition Joint Guidance, “Starting the 2020-2021 School Year.”...more
On Monday, March 1, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an agreement on a $6.6 billion budget package aimed to “accelerate the safe return to in-person instruction across California and empower schools to...more
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many higher education institutions transitioned to remote instruction, causing students to attend classes online, move out of dorms, and forego the traditional college experience....more
As we enter the New Year, the end is not yet in sight for litigation related to COVID-19. Five recent decisions, summarized below, highlight the still developing legal implications of the pandemic on private party rights as...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
As discussed in previous updates, courts across the country continue to grapple with the application of the legal doctrines of impossibility, frustration of purpose, and impracticability in breach of contract actions...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
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has again updated its COVID-19 Interim Exclusion Guidance as well as its general Interim Guidance for Pre-K-12 Schools. The updated guidance documents include several revisions,...more
Our Franczek team received many inquiries about staffing options for classrooms where the teacher of record is teaching remotely. While many districts are staffing these classrooms with licensed paraprofessionals, the...more
With public schools back in session, there is a new must-have accessory for students: masks. Outside of school, many have used this highly visible accessory to express personal beliefs, some of which are controversial. ...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
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) updated its COVID-19 FAQ and Exclusion Guidance last week. As we previously reported, the IDPH released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for schools in August to supplement but...more
Schools Also Reopening - This diverging approach in our major American sports leagues mirrors in many ways the different approaches school districts across the country are taking with respect to fall reopenings....more
This article is the fifth in a multi-part series examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on select real estate sectors and the considerations around how technologies will shape future operations and accelerate means to...more
In Washington - The blame game between Democrats and Republicans continues as each side signals they want a deal, but negotiations on a Phase Four coronavirus package remain stalled. POLITICO reports that the White House...more
To the shock of no one, both the state and federal governments continue to revise their guidance concerning the reopening of the schools. On the date (July 24, 2020) that public schools were supposed to file their reopening...more
Connecticut’s schools have the unenviable task of having to plan for the “reopening” of schools while dealing with ever-shifting (and apparently end-result driven) federal and state guidance. ...more
A significant challenge for reopening the economy and returning to “normalcy” during the COVID-19 pandemic is addressing whether, when, and how schools and colleges will open this fall. As with the initial shelter-in-place...more
Schools planning for students to return to campus in person this fall are confronting many significant challenges, including how to support students who may need physical restraint while also maintaining safe practices to...more
An Auburn University student claims he did not get what he bargained for in being relegated to distance learning instead of having an in-person educational experience. On June 30, 2020, Steven Bailey filed a federal court...more
The Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) recently issued guidance specific to reopening college campuses. Though the CDC did not weigh in on whether institutions should resume in-person classes in the fall, it set forth key...more