Some of you may have noticed that this blog has gone somewhat silent in the last couple of months. It’s not that there haven’t been developments in education law worthy of comment. But business as usual has been difficult to reestablish. Instead, we seem to be establishing a “new normal”, much as I imagine schools in Colorado did in […]
Since 1962, employers with a dues checkoff provision in a collective bargaining agreement have been permitted to cease deducting dues from employee paychecks and remitting them to the union upon contract expiration. As of last month, however, employers can no longer relieve themselves of the burden of collecting and remitting dues upon contract expiration. In […]
While both the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and Connecticut law permit an employer to include the reasonable value/cost of lodging provided to an employee as part of such employee’s wages towards the minimum wage, employers need to pay close attention to the differences between federal and state law. Under the FLSA, an employer may […]
December 2012: Shelby L. Wilson was quoted in an article on estate planning in the December edition of New Haven Magazine. In the article, entitled “The Greatest Gift,” Shelby comments on how charitable giving as part of an estate plan is not just for the wealthy, but can be a legacy for those of modest means. Shelby advises individuals, […]
In what will no doubt be viewed as a landmark decision, an interest arbitration panel has issued an award which will allow the New Haven Public Schools to privatize 86 of the 186 positions in its custodial and maintenance union, and in the process save nearly $4 million dollars. Faced with skyrocketing pension and health […]
School is back in session for the 2012-2013 academic year and the time has arrived for school districts to fully implement all aspects of Connecticut’s anti-bullying law. July 1, 2012 marked the deadline for implementation of certain remaining aspects of the state’s bullying law last revised in 2011. With the advent of a new school […]
On Wednesday, June 27, 2012, the Connecticut State Board of Education (CSBOE) adopted long awaited definitions of excused and unexcused student absences as required under Public Act 11-136, An Act Concerning Minor Revisions to the Education Statutes. The new definitions promise to promote consistency and reliability in the state’s data collection and reporting related to student attendance. […]
School administrators frequently grapple with the treatment of video recordings. From Constitutional issues to concerns about education records, administrators need to be aware of how to use surveillance cameras appropriately and how to respond to requests for copies of those video recordings. As more and more districts are using video surveillance in schools, this issue promises to […]
In a decision issued March 31, 2012, a United States District Court judge has rejected the appeal of the Plainville, Connecticut board of education from a hearing officer’s ruling mandating reimbursement for residential placement at the F.L. Chamberlain School in Massachusetts. In Plainville Board of Education v. R.N. by Mrs. H., 112 LRP 16721 (D. Conn. […]
If you are responsible for the implementation of either IEP’s or Section 504 plans in your school district, at some point, you have probably encountered a situation where a parent refuses to provide consent (or revokes consent) for an IEP, and insists that the district instead implement a Section 504 Accommodation Plan. If so, you […]
