On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) released the long-awaited Final Rule to Title IX. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a statute with corresponding regulations that protect people...more
On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Fact Sheet, which provides guidance to help school districts prevent and address discrimination, including harassment,...more
In 2022, state and local governments banned 2,571 different books. This is more books than were subject to such bans in the previous three years combined (2,436). Most of these efforts are taken at the local level. Texas’...more
3/21/2024
/ Compelled Speech ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Government Speech Doctrine ,
Governor Abbott ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Libraries ,
Parental Consent ,
Public Interest ,
Public Schools ,
Texas
On November 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s (“Department”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released new civil rights data from the 2020-2021 school year, as well as seven data reports and snapshots which provide...more
2/21/2024
/ Bullying ,
Certifications ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Disabilities ,
Equal Opportunities ,
Internet ,
OCR ,
Public Schools ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Teachers
The Biden Administration has made concentrated efforts to address the rise in reports of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and other hate-based or bias-based incidents in schools and on college campuses since the beginning of the...more
2/13/2024
/ Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Ethnicity ,
Hamas ,
Harassment ,
Israel ,
National Origin ,
OCR ,
Title VI
On August 4, 2023, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), on accessibility requirements for online and app-based services...more
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released a Fact Sheet on Ensuring Meaningful Participation in Advanced Coursework and Specialized Programs for Students Who Are English Learners...more
In April 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs and Activities Receiving Federal Financial...more
On April 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2023, on athletic eligibility under Title IX. The express aim of the...more
On May 1, 2023, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released its annual report for Fiscal Year 2022. The FY 2022 report focused on civil rights complaints, proactive compliance reviews, technical assistance presentations, and...more
5/17/2023
/ Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Disability ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Opportunities ,
Harassment ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
OCR ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VI
School districts often have gender-based dress codes, outlining specific requirements for students such as mandating a particular skirt length for female students or prohibiting muscle shirts for male students. In late 2022,...more
On November 17, 2022, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida entered a temporary injunction against portions of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act that restricts how Florida’s...more
On October 31, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS” or “the Court”) heard oral arguments in two cases challenging the race-conscious student admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University...more
In July 2022, two federal district courts on opposite sides of the country issued opinions that have the potential to have a major impact on non-profits and schools not accepting federal funding throughout the country....more
On February 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) issued a notice inviting applications for fiscal year 2022 for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). Local educational agencies (LEAs) or...more
On January 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court” or the “Court”) granted certiorari in the Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (“SFFA v. Harvard”) case....more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a First Amendment free speech and religious freedom case with potential major implications for all public employers.
In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Court will...more
On January 14, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether a school district was within its rights in telling a coach not to continue to kneel and pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games...more
In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) requirements went into effect for responding to sexual harassment in the programs and activities of elementary and secondary schools receiving ED funds. This followed...more
12/16/2021
/ Bias ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Department of Education ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
School Districts ,
School Policies ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Title IX Coordinator ,
Training Requirements ,
Webinars
John Kluge, a former music and orchestra teacher at Brownsburg Community School Corporation (“BCSC”) allegedly was forced to resign after refusing to refer to transgender students by the names selected by the students, their...more
On June 23, 2020, in an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Mahanoy Area School District’s decision to suspend a student from the cheerleading team for posting vulgar language and gestures on social media (outside...more
On April 28th, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., a student free speech case that every public school district in the country needs to be watching...more
5/4/2021
/ First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Mahanoy Area School District v B.L. ,
Online Platforms ,
Oral Argument ,
SCOTUS ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Student Speech ,
Students ,
Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School Dist.
On February 12, 2021, the Department of Education (“the Department”) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) released guidance to support school and district leaders and educators to safely reopen...more
3/17/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Department of Education ,
Equity ,
Masks ,
Minorities ,
New Guidance ,
Public Schools ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
School Transportation ,
Social Distancing
On November 11, 2017, various groups of parents and several individuals filed suit in federal district court in Oregon challenging Dallas School District No. 2’s policy of accommodating transgender students’ requests to use...more
On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED” or “the Department”) released the long-anticipated final Title IX regulations, which have a significant impact on schools all across the country—both K-12 and higher...more