On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, President Trump issued several Executive Orders targeting various elements of his policy agenda. Below, we discuss orders that aim to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability under Title...more
We took the week off from our Week in Review alert last week as it was a (relatively) slow week. However, as it tends to happen after a slow week, developments picked back up this week....more
It is no secret that whenever there is a change in the Oval Office it is common for the incoming administration to implement quick and widespread changes to effectuate campaign promises. Indeed, in modern times, newly elected...more
1/31/2025
/ Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Gender Identity ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On January 20, 2025, one of President Trump’s first actions as the president of the United States was signing an Executive Order proclaiming that the U.S. government only recognizes two sexes: male and female. The order goes...more
1/22/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX
On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Judge John C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an opinion and order vacating the Final Rule that implemented the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The decision by Judge Reeves has the...more
Happy New Year! Several Illinois laws related to schools became effective January 1, 2025, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new School Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2025. A PDF...more
1/6/2025
/ Disabled Children ,
Educational Institutions ,
Illinois ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safety Standards ,
School Boards ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
State and Local Government ,
Student Athletes ,
Students
The PAC recently issued a non-binding opinion, finding a school district did not waive the attorney-client privilege where prior disclosures of the requested records were mandated by state law....more
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued its tenth binding opinion of the year, finding the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by failing to make two Board meetings convenient...more
We are nearly at the one-month mark with the 2024 Title IX Regulations in effect. Since the August 1 implementation date, school administrators have been busy getting trained, preparing for the school year ahead, and sorting...more
8/30/2024
/ Educational Institutions ,
Grievance Process ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Training Requirements
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued its seventh binding opinion of the year, finding a Village Board of Trustees violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by taking improper action to authorize the purchase of a...more
Schools throughout the country are preparing to implement the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ (“OCR”) long-awaited final 2024 Title IX regulations. These new regulations, which replace the 2020...more
8/2/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Illinois ,
LGBTQ ,
New Regulations ,
OCR ,
School Districts ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Universities
Earlier this morning, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released its long-awaited final Title IX regulations on sexual harassment. These new regulations, which replace the 2020 rules, will take effect on...more
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion, finding a school board violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when it improperly discussed school curriculum during closed session....more
Over the summer, Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 103-0394, creating Section 17-1.10 of the School Code. The new law requires school boards that do not receive federal impact aid funding to present annually a written...more
Early this year, the Illinois Appellate Court issued an opinion responding to challenges asserted under the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Appellate Court held that the Village of Oak...more
1/23/2024
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Budgets ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employees ,
Firemen ,
FOIA ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Hearing ,
Public Meetings ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Violations
As we detailed in a prior alert, Section 10-20.21 of the School Code was amended to increase the competitive bidding threshold from $25,000 to $35,000. The amendments went into effect January 1, 2024....more
Franczek P.C. is pleased to announce the publication of its Legislative Update for schools. A PDF version of the 2024 School Law Legislative Update is now available...more
In a recent binding opinion, the PAC found a public body in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) for restricting the content of public comment where a member of the public attempted to discuss the District’s hiring...more
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued two non-binding opinions concerning the applicability of Open Meetings Act (OMA) requirements to board committees....more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not obligate a public body to produce records that it does not already maintain in response to a FOIA request. Further, the Court...more
Governor Pritzker recently signed P.A. 103-0491 (previously SB 1570) into law, which will allow school districts to enter into design-build contracts—as opposed to the currently available design-bid-build delivery...more
8/22/2023
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Project ,
Design-Bid-Build ,
Design-Build ,
Illinois ,
New Legislation ,
Project Delivery Methods ,
Public Acts ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request for Proposals ,
School Districts
Governor Pritzker recently signed into law Public Act 103-0311 (previously HB 2447), which amends two key provisions in the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) effective as of July 28, 2023....more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a new binding opinion concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In the opinion, the PAC concluded that a police department violated the FOIA by withholding records...more
This month, Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 103-0008 (House Bill 3817) into law, which establishes the Budget Implementation Act for fiscal year 2024. While there are a multitude of amendments to the Act, one significant...more
As we previously reported, under new School Code amendments made by Faith’s Law aimed to address sexual abuse prevention and response in schools, school districts, charter and non-public schools are required to implement new...more