In March, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington ruled against a school district in favor of a student with intellectual disabilities, who was awarded $500,000 by a jury based on the district’s failure...more
4/26/2022
/ Disabled Children ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Negligence ,
School Districts ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Title IX
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
We recently launched a multi-part series where we are providing a refresher on the key players on the Title IX team under the current 2020 regulations. While we wait for the Biden administration to publicly release their...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 Illinois, as universal masking is fading, the next question looms: what will the end of universal masking mean for staff and students with disabilities who are at high risk? Across the county, issues regarding universal...more
2/24/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disabilities ,
Educational Institutions ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
Health and Safety ,
IDEA ,
Illinois ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Section 504 ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Workplace Safety
The Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education recently issued a new Fact Sheet. The Fact Sheet repeats prior guidance that “the responsibility for schools to comply with Section 504 continues regardless of how...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
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
After announcing last week its plans to adopt the CDC’s new recommended shortened timeframes for exclusion, the IDPH and ISBE released several new guidance documents making such changes. The new guidance documents, as well as...more
1/14/2022
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Students ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
In response to the chronic and acute shortage of approved residential placements for Illinois students with special needs, ISBE announced on Monday two steps to provide some, limited relief....more
In this third blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on an issue of special importance during and subsequent to...more
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
Governor Pritzker recently signed into law Public Act 102-0466 (House Bill 3223), which makes changes and additions to the School Code to support students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual...more
In this second blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on two questions relevant to this time of transition and...more
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) published a Question and Answer document to advise school districts on returning to in-person instruction. The OSERS Q&A...more
10/21/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Education ,
Distance Learning ,
Educational Institutions ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Special Education ,
Students
GENERAL -
Public Act 101-0654 -
Education Omnibus Bill -
Effective: March 8, 2021 Enacts multiple changes in Illinois public schools, workforce, and higher education. Among these changes include the following:...more
10/5/2021
/ Absenteeism ,
Child Abuse ,
Educational Institutions ,
FAFSA ,
Financial Literacy ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
ISBE ,
Naturalization ,
Policy Statement ,
Property Tax ,
Public Acts ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Special Education ,
Students
New Guidance Documents: -
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently issued the following updated guidance documents related to return to in-person instruction...more
9/28/2021
/ Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
New Guidance ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Late Friday, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2021-24 requiring schools to exclude students and school personnel for COVID-19 diagnosis, exposure, or symptoms. School districts, not the local health department, are...more
9/21/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Employees ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Workplace Safety
In July, the Illinois State Board of Education published non-regulatory guidance to assist schools in implementing HB 40 and HB 2748, now Public Act 102-0172 and 102-0173, respectively. The FAQ addressed many of questions...more
Last week, ISBE published long-awaited guidance related to remote learning for the 2021-2022 school year. We have been anticipating this guidance since early in the summer when ISBE announced that school would, with limited...more
9/7/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Distance Learning ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
Public Health Emergency ,
School Closures ,
Special Education ,
Students
Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year. As the new year gets underway, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) within the Department of Education advised states and districts that it will be...more
Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! As we begin, special education leaders should take note of several new laws recently signed by the Governor. We have been talking a lot about HB 40 and HB 2748, which extend transition...more
8/24/2021
/ Disabled Children ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Remote Learning ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Website Accessibility
On July 26, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a Factsheet explaining the potential for students who have been infected with COVID-19 to...more
Earlier this summer, we let you know about two special education bills that had passed the Illinois legislature, which, if signed by the Governor, would provide additional services to some transition students. ...more
Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued new, anticipated guidance concerning the Department’s current regulations related to sexual harassment. The guidance, titled Questions and...more