Priority Briefings

Student residency has long been a concern of school districts in Illinois. The current process for determining disputed residency issues is performed under the authority of the board of education and the final decision rests with the board.  School Code Section 10-20.12b specifically states that, “[t]he board of education’s decision is final.”  Courts could review…

One of the most useful tools for school district fund management has been the power of school boards to transfer money between the major operating funds under Section 17-2A of the School Code. While that section still contains the significant limitation that any such transfer be for “one-time, non-recurring expenses”, for several years the General…

On May 18, 2016, the United States Department of Labor issued its final rule updating the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The new rule goes into effect on December 1, 2016, and applies to all employees of state and local governments, including school districts, who are not exempt from overtime pay.…

On May 13, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice issued a joint Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students. The Dear Colleague letter cemented in policy what the agencies had previously determined through a series of decisions and settlements.  The letter asserts that a school that fails to comply with Title IX,…

Effective January 13, 2016, regulations governing special education in Illinois have been updated by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In the new special education rules, codified within Title 23 of the Illinois Administrative Code, ISBE made several significant alterations to the special education process and has also addressed minor changes in terminology and…

In an opinion issued on January 5, 2016, the Illinois Appellate Court has held that the law which allows hospitals to obtain property tax exemptions under easy-to-meet standards is invalid as inconsistent with the terms of the Illinois Constitution. The decision in the case of The Carle Foundation v. Cunningham Township is significant for school…

In an opinion issued on December 15, 2015, the Illinois Appellate Court rebuffed the Illinois Attorney General (AG) with regard to her office’s rulings on the propriety of the procedures by which a school board approved a severance agreement. The decision in the case of Board of Education of Springfield School District No. 186 v.…

Last month, we reported on the findings made by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the closely-watched investigation into a suburban high school District’s treatment of a transgender student (Unsettled: Transgender Student Civil Rights, https://petrarcagleason.com/unsettled-transgender-student-civil-rights-2/). The Student, a biological male, identifies as a female.  The Student’s OCR complaint alleged the…

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the IDEA (November 29, 1975), the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has released new guidance clarifying its expectation that a child’s annual IEP goals are to be aligned with state academic content standards for the grade in which the child is enrolled. Under the IDEA, a child with…

In a case garnering significant national attention, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has determined that an Illinois district has violated the civil rights of a transgender high school student. Over the last several years, Township High School District 211 has permitted transgender students to use the bathroom of their identified…