Priority Briefings

This morning, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in the case of Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools. The decision will allow families, in certain cases, to file lawsuits directly in court under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“Title II”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973…

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, the…

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued Dear Colleague Letter: Restraint and Seclusion of Students with Disabilities on December 28, 2016.  In this Guidance, OCR states that its Civil Rights Data Collection indicates that schools restrain and seclude students with disabilities at higher rates than students without disabilities and that this…

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Dear Colleague Letter: Preventing Racial Discrimination in Special Education on December 12, 2016.  In this Guidance, OCR states that it continues to find (1) over-identification of students of color as having disabilities; (2) under-identification of students of color who do have disabilities; and…

In Mulvey v. Carl Sandberg HS,  2016 IL App (1st) 151615, two sisters brought claims against their high school, the school district, and various school officials and coaches alleging that they had suffered bullying at the hands of their basketball teammates.  They claimed that they were ignored, harassed, humiliated, physically assaulted, injured, and intimidated by…

On December 1st, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an opinion in a case eagerly anticipated by Illinois school attorneys, administrators, and school board leaders.  In Beggs v. Board of Education of Murphysboro Community Unit School District No. 186, the Illinois Supreme Court for the first time addressed the modifications to Section 24-12 of the Illinois…

On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing and enforcing its final rule updating the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The injunction is effective on a nationwide basis…

Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment:  Possible Impact on School District Levies On the ballot for next week’s general election is a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution which would limit how certain revenues from transportation sources are used. Referred to by its supporters as the “Safe Roads Amendment” – this proposal defines certain transportation-related…

The General Assembly recently enacted the Local Government Travel Expense Control Act (Public Act 99-0604). The Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2017, requires “public agencies” (including school districts, community college districts, and units of local government other than home rule units) to either adopt a resolution or pass an ordinance regulating the reimbursement…

One difficult issue facing public school officials is under what circumstances are searches of the personal items of students legally permissible. Nowhere is this more difficult than when the personal item in question is the content of electronic messages and images on a cell phone. The law in this area is still evolving, as a…