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New Jersey’s Division of Civil Rights Finds Probable Cause For a Student Complaint Alleging Hostile School Environment Based Upon Bias-based Peer Harassment

The New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (NJDCR) recently announced a finding of probable cause in the discrimination complaint filed by the parent of a middle school student claiming that her son was subjected to a hostile school environment based upon harassment by his peers for his perceived sexual orientation and religion. What makes this […]

U.S. District Court Rules that Employees’ Social Networking Sites Are Discoverable in a Sexual Harassment Suit against Employer

In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Simply Storage Management, L.L.C. and O.B. Management Services, 2010 U.S. Dist., LEXIS 527661, (“E.E.O.C. v. Simply Storage”) the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, was asked to decide a basic discovery issue in a novel context when the parties to this sexual harassment suit failed to agree on whether […]

Time Has Come to Implement ISS Law

Beginning on July 1, 2010, schools will be required by law to implement the school suspension law first passed in 2007 creating a presumption for in-school suspension and whose implementation date was twice extended by the Connecticut legislature as recently as October 2009. With the close of the May 2010 legislative session, the Connecticut legislature […]

School District’s Suspicionless Sweeps of School Parking Lots and Unattended Lockers Using Sniffer Dogs Upheld As Constitutional by Connecticut Superior Court

The Connecticut Superior Court in Burbank v. Canton Bd. Of Education,  2009 WL 3366272 (Conn. Super. 9/14/09)  ruled against parents and students who sought to prohibit the Canton Public School District from continuing its practice of using local police to conduct suspicionless sweeps of parking lots and unattended lockers at its middle and high schools using dogs […]

CT DOE Circulates Draft Revised Special Education Regulations

In June 2007, the CT DOE started the process of revising the state special education regulations, and circulated its proposals for public comment.  Based on the responses, the Department decided to revise its proposal and restart the review process.  A new draft has emerged, dated February 3, 2010.  According to the accompanying memorandum from Commissioner […]

When Is a Step-Parent a Parent for Purposes of Disclosing Educational Records?

An April 15, 2009 letter from the Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) addresses a complaint filed by a parent indicating that the school improperly disclosed the student’s private educational information to a step-parent and grandparent during a meeting at school.  If the child’s father has parental rights and permitted the disclosure to the step-mother and […]

OCR: No Special Education Notation on School Transcripts

OCR’s guidance letter issued October 17, 2008 In Re: Report Cards and Transcripts for Students with Disabilities, 108 LRP 60114 (OCR 2008) clarifies that references to special education services received by a student are acceptable on report cards intended for parent use in measuring student progress, but not acceptable on transcripts that may be disclosed to employers […]

Forest Grove Case Drops Other Shoe

In a decision filed December 8, 2009, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon issued a ruling in the case that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court and back on the issue of whether a school district could be liable for tuition reimbursement to a private school in […]

AG’s Office Issues Report to Education Committee Re: BCBA Certification

In a report issued January 13, 2010, the Attorney General’s office recommended “as a first step toward full licensure through the Department of Public Health” that the Education Committee of the Connecticut Legislature support one of three options for licensure or certification of behavior analysts operating within Connecticut school districts.  According to the AG’s Office […]

Firm News: 2009

In December, 2009, Attorney Mario Coppola was appointed an Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Trumbull. Attorney Coppola will handle the land use and inland wetland legal matters for the town. Attorney Shelby L. Wilson spoke at “Preservation of Capital and Prudent Estate Planning in this Market Environment” hosted by Berchem Moses PC and Catamount Management Group. The event […]