Feb 23rd, 2021Oversight of Student Activity Funds is Not to be Taken Lightly
Teachers often serve as extraclassroom activity advisors. Extraclassroom activities, in turn, often involve student fundraising efforts. Students use the fundraising experience to learn basic financial literacy and accounting, with the goal of using the money raised to participate in an extraclassroom experience. Club advisors should be provided with written guidance and support regarding their financial …
Feb 23rd, 2021A Refresher on Bullying and IEPs
In a 2011 decision, T.K. v. New York City Dep’t of Ed., 779 F. Supp.2d 289 (E.D.N.Y. 2011), the U.S. District Court determined that there may be times when a Committee on Special Education (“CSE”) is required to address bullying in a student’s Individualized Education Plan (“IEP”) and that failure to do so may deny …
Jan 28th, 2021Free Speech Showdown – Social Media and Students’ Rights
Free speech has always been and remains a hotly contested issue in our society, especially in the public school context. There is a delicate balancing act between recognition of schools’ necessity to maintain an orderly environment conducive to learning and their students’ First Amendment rights. Last summer, in B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District, the …
Oct 30th, 2020Federal Court Rules: No Right to Independent Functional Behavioral Assessment
On September 17, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that parents of students with a disability are not entitled to obtain an independent Functional Behavioral Assessment (“FBA”) as a form of an independent educational evaluation (“IEE”). (D.S. v. Trumbull Bd of Educ.) This ruling is contrary to guidance from the …
Oct 30th, 2020Retaining Hourly Employees During Shutdowns May Warrant MOA’s
Due to Covid-19 exposures and/or increased infection rates, school districts are being forced to close buildings on a short-term basis. This can result in complications for hourly personnel, which can, in turn present complications for the district as a whole. For example: the lack of consistent full-time employment and pay may prompt them to find …
Oct 30th, 2020Be Specific to Keep Suspensions Valid, Says Interim Commissioner
The Interim Commissioner of Education has been busy issuing decisions in August and September addressing the sufficiency of charges for student discipline hearings. Particularly, in two cases of note, suspensions were annulled and expunged due to a finding that the charges levied by the District were insufficient. By way of review, to suspend a student …
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