Priority Briefings

            Effective July 1, 2014, limited recall rights have been extended by P.A. 98-0648 to certain teachers receiving a “needs improvement” performance rating.  Prior to this Act, Senate Bill 7 had deprived all teachers in Grouping 2 of the sequence of honorable dismissal list of any recall rights in the event of a reduction in…

          The United States Supreme Court has recently issued opinions restricting law enforcement searches of the digital content of smart phones.  Those decisions should have implications for school officials’ searches of student phones, as well.            The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects our right to be secure in our “persons, houses, papers…

            Governor Quinn has signed into law Public Act 98-0669, which amends Section 5/27-23.7 of the Illinois School Code by requiring schools to expand their existing anti-bullying policies based on collaboration with a range of school stakeholders, including students and parents/guardians.  The new law covers public elementary and secondary school districts, as well as charter…

           Last month, in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway, the United States Supreme Court extended its precedent permitting a ceremonial prayer at the beginning of a legislative session to a local government town council meeting.  Although that case concerned a municipal governing board and the justices provided varying opinions to support their…

          Reversing the decision of the Appellate Court last year, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the office of the State’s Attorney in each county is indeed subject to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).           FOIA, which requires the disclosure of most state and local governmental records upon request from any member of…

The Circuit Court of Sangamon County issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on Wednesday, May 15, that delays the effective date of the Pension Reform Law until underlying litigation contesting the validity of the law is decided.  The Law was scheduled to take effect on June 1, 2014. Two immediate questions raised by…

          With the increased use of technology by school districts to enhance student learning comes challenges with regard to student privacy and security practices. These challenges prompted the U.S. Department of Education to create the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (“PTAC”) as an informational resource to help educators, online educational service providers, and parents.  On February…

          On January 8, 2014, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ) issued a joint “School Climate and Discipline Guidance Package” to assist schools with creating positive, safe environments and understanding civil rights obligations.  OCR noted that schools continue to struggle with creating…

Public Act 98-0219 (effective 8/09/13):  Initial IEPs and Part-Time Student IEPs Must Be Implemented Within 10 School Attendance Days Section 14-6.01 of the School Code has been amended to provide that initial IEPs and IEPs for part-time students must be implemented no later than 10 school attendance days after prior written notice is given to…

On January 1, 2014, the Illinois Right to Privacy in the School Setting Act, Public Act 09-0129, will go into effect.  The Act addresses school officials’ ability to obtain access to the “pages” of students’ social network accounts.  The new law covers both public elementary and secondary school districts, as well as nonpublic schools “recognized…