Dec 7th, 2021Benching a Student-Athlete for Violating the School’s Code of Conduct
A Review of the First Amendment Decisions Issued Since the Supreme Court’s “Cheerleader Case” Examining Public Schools’ Disciplinary Authority Over Off-Campus Student Speech In our July newsletter, we reported on the Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., 141 S. Ct. 2038 (2021), decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in June in which the Court …
Dec 7th, 2021N.Y. Open Meetings Law Imposes New Posting Requirements
Effective November 8, 2021, Boards of Education are required to post meeting minutes on the District’s website within 14 days of the meeting. In those situations where meeting minutes are not prepared within 14 days, the law provides that “unabridged video recordings or unabridged audio recordings or unabridged written transcripts may be deemed to be …
Dec 7th, 2021A Delicate Balance – Addressing Religious Holidays in Public Schools
With the holiday season well underway, celebrations and observances abound. Perhaps now more than ever, these events remain a helpful tool for school communities to boost morale. However, the worthy aim of these events does not insulate school districts from claims of religious exclusion. In a society predominantly observing Christmas, there is a fine line …
Nov 28th, 2021Persistently Dangerous Schools – Clarification of Reportable Incidents
Persistently dangerous schools are designated by reference to the School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC) incident categories and definitions which enter into a calculated School Violence Index (SVI). The SSEC and SVI have been revised effective July 1, 2021, in response to confusion regarding a number of the categories, their definitions, and how they were …
Nov 28th, 2021New Posting Requirements Under the Open Meetings Law
Under a new amendment to the New York State Open Meetings law (Public Officer’s Law §103), School Boards are now required to make documents available at least twenty-four hours before a meeting – to the extent practicable. Significantly, this amendment does not change the types of documents which must be made available, it only addresses …
Nov 28th, 2021Consider Reviewing Your Code of Conduct To Ensure It Does Not Violate the CROWN Act
The Dignity For All Students Act (“DASA”) was amended in 2019 to prohibit discrimination or bullying related to a student’s hairstyle, commonly known as the CROWN Act. The CROWN Act protects students’ rights to wear or treat their hair however they desire, without threat of racial discrimination or loss of access to school programs or …
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