School district practices on referrals to local law enforcement for student misconduct in schools are facing intense scrutiny in the wake of the ProPublica investigation reported these past weeks in the Chicago Tribune. ...more
The Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently issued new non-regulatory guidance to assist public K-12 school districts with applying student discipline policies in a...more
Public Act 102-0339 requires each school district’s time out and physical restraint oversight team to develop a plan for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint in...more
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed that Title IX provides adequate notice to federal funding recipients of their responsibility to respond to known sexual harassment if they have control over...more
2/22/2022
/ Appeals ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Third-Party ,
Title IX
As we noted in our last blog post, the Biden administration recently announced plans to propose amendments to the Title IX regulations by April 2022. While this deadline is fast approaching, before you start thinking about...more
2/8/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
School Safety ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title IX Coordinator
In 2019, we reported on the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District involving a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state who was placed on administrative leave by his public school district for praying...more
2/8/2022
/ Appeals ,
Certiorari ,
Coaches ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Litigation ,
Establishment Clause ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Prayer ,
Public Employees ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
SCOTUS
Over the summer, we reported on the passage of Public Act 102-0339, which aims to reduce and the use of time out, isolated time out, and physical restraint (referred to herein as “restrictive interventions”) in schools. ...more
1/26/2022
/ Child Abuse ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
ISBE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Acts ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Restraints ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Students
As a presidential candidate, now-President Biden promised that he would put a “quick end” to the Trump administration’s 2020 Title IX rules. Aiming to keep that promise, the Department of Education announced its intention to...more
12/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Rape ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Request for Information that asks members of the public to submit written comments regarding the administration of school discipline in...more
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in its first case ever to address the discipline of students for speech occurring off-campus, on their own time, and online. ...more
4/29/2021
/ Code of Conduct ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Mahanoy Area School District v B.L. ,
Online Platforms ,
Oral Argument ,
Political Speech ,
SCOTUS ,
Snapchat ,
Student Speech ,
Students ,
Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School Dist.
Schools planning for students to return to campus in person this fall are confronting many significant challenges, including how to support students who may need physical restraint while also maintaining safe practices to...more
As you are all well aware by now, the U.S. Department of Education recently issued its final Title IX regulations. While we continue to wade through the over 2,000-page document issued by the ED (consisting of the new...more
5/21/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Training Requirements ,
Universities
One of the biggest changes from the new Title IX regulations issued by the Department of Education last week is that, beginning in August 2020, OCR’s complaint findings will be based on standards very similar to those used by...more
5/20/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
OCR ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
After almost one-and-a-half years since issuing its original proposed rule, the U.S. Department of Education has issued final Title IX regulations effective August 14, 2020. Although analyzing the changes will take some time,...more
5/8/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Deregulation ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
Last fall, in response to serious concerns raised about the use of isolated time out and physical restraint in schools, ISBE issued emergency rules to limit the use of those behavior management techniques. ...more
As the issues related to the mandated school closures in response to the COVID-19 crisis continue to rapidly evolve, the Governor extended the closure through April 7, and in all likelihood, Illinois schools will remain...more
3/31/2020
/ Act of God ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
FERPA ,
IDEA ,
ISBE ,
School Closures ,
Special Education ,
Student Enrollment ,
Student Records ,
Students
Cyberbullying is nothing new. A majority of teens have experienced the phenomenon and college campuses certainly are not immune. Just because something is common does not make it simple to deal with, however. And this is...more
3/3/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Cyberbullying ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Harassment ,
Internet Privacy ,
OCR ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Students ,
Title IX
After receiving and reviewing questions and concerns from stakeholders regarding the practical implications of its emergency rules on the use of time out and physical restraint, the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”)...more
1/10/2020
/ Child Abuse ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Rule ,
ISBE ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Restraints ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
Students
Within the last few weeks, there have been significant changes to the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) rules regarding time out and physical restraint. First, ISBE issued emergency rules, then it...more
1/10/2020
/ Child Abuse ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Rule ,
ISBE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Restraints ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
Students ,
Training Requirements
The Title IX world is abuzz with expectation about the release of regulations from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The general consensus is that even if the Department makes some changes based on...more
12/10/2019
/ Clery Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Statutory Violations ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities ,
VAWA
On October 17, 2019, Franczek P.C. Special Education team members Dana Fattore Crumley and Emily Tulloch presented at the IAASE 2019 Fall Conference on Fighting Friendly Fire in your IEP: Avoiding Internal Challenges to IDEA...more
On June 1, 2019, the Illinois House voted to pass House Bill 2627, which would amend the Illinois School Code to require schools to notify parents and take reasonable steps to include parents or school mental health...more