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          Pursuant to law, every school board must hold its organizational meeting no later than 28 days after the consolidated election.  Further, new board members cannot be seated until after the official canvass of the results by the county election authority.  The deadline for the canvass is not until 21 days after the election.  Therefore,…

NEW LEGAL GUIDANCE AND LAW ON STUDENT ISSUES             There have been several interesting developments in student-related legal requirements in the past month that school districts and special education cooperatives need to know.  They are described below, in order of their publication. I.          ISBE GUIDANCE ON TMC AND EARLY CHILDHOOD TRANSITION  On January 15,…

In July 2012, Section 226.840 of the Illinois State Board of Education special education regulations was amended to revise the qualifications of school personnel who may conduct medical reviews.  Last week the ISBE issued Guidelines: Frequently Asked Questions About Qualifications Required of Personnel Conducting Medical Reviews.  The Guidance defines “medical review,” describes how a medical…

Yielding to requests from municipal clerks, school board secretaries, and other local government officials, the General Assembly has acted quickly during its fall veto session to provide one-time relief to those offices which did not wish to stay open on Christmas Eve in order to accept candidate petitions for the April 9, 2013, consolidated election. …

On October 3, 2012, an Illinois Appellate Court issued a decision which should serve as a warning to public school districts asserting questionable objections under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).  In Rock River Times v. Rockford Public School District 205, the Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling denying the requestors’ prayer for…

Important changes to the parameters within which public schools may acquire and use information contained in law enforcement records about students who have been arrested and/or charged with criminal offenses are on the horizon.  Public Act 97-1104, which takes effect on January 1, 2013, amends the Illinois School Code and Juvenile Court Act to allow…

Last year we alerted you to Doe-3 v. White, an Illinois Appellate Court decision that appeared to greatly expand the possibility for school districts’ and district officials’ liability to students when failing to report an employee with a history of abusive conduct. Doe-3 was appealed and the Illinois Supreme Court rendered a decision on August…

On June 18, 2012, the Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court ruled that the Illinois School Code does not require a public school district to provide transportation to parochial and charter school students on days that public schools are not in session.  In C.E. and C.L. v. Board of Education of East St. Louis School Dist.…

Governor Quinn has signed into law Public Act 97-0956, which amends Section 14-6.02 of the School Code to permit not only dogs, but also miniature horses, to act as service animals for students with disabilities. Effective immediately, a “service animal” is defined as a dog or miniature horse trained or being trained as a hearing…

We are proud and happy to report that Hauser Izzo, LLC has been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education to provide Leadership Training for Illinois school board members. Leadership Training is a new program required by the Education Reform Act. Pursuant to Section 10-16a of the School Code, all school board members elected…