The United States Supreme Court has denied a petition to review the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of Board of Education of Hyde Park v. Frank G., 459 F.3d 356 (2d Cir. 2006). Reviewing this case would have allowed the high court a second chance to […]
The Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated decision in the case of Board of Education of the City of New York v. Tom F. ex rel. Gilbert F., 107 LRP 58890 (U.S. 2007), but disappointed all court-watchers by failing to rule on the merits of the case. After an impartial hearing officer in New York awarded a family reimbursement for a […]
In a recent decision issued by the Connecticut Supreme Court, the doctrine of sovereign immunity was held to protect a school district from liability from suit as a result of an injury sustained by a parent picking up a six year old child from an after school program sponsored by the Hartford Board of Education. Durrant […]
Public Act 07-147, which took effect October 1, 2007, makes sections of the Connecticut General Statutes concerning the use of seclusion time out and physical restraint previously applicable only to institutions operated by the State and special education schools, now applicable to local and regional boards of education as well. All children receiving special education […]
New guidance issued by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the U.S. Department of Education indicates that if a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is conducted in order to determine behavioral supports and services required for an individual child, that FBA constitutes an “evaluation” under IDEA for which parental consent is required. According to […]
In its Regular Session, the Legislature made several changes to the laws regarding suspension and expulsion of students in Connecticut schools. Some of these changes went into effect on July 1, 2007, while others will not go into effect until July 1, 2008. Knowing which is which is important, since these changes will impact the […]
Public Act 07-3, Section 49, passed during the June Special Session of the Legislature, now requires that the notice of an expulsion hearing include information about free and reduced cost legal services available locally and how to access these services. This requirement took effect on July 1, 2007. If you are still using last year’s […]
How far can you go to hold parents accountable when they decide to home-school a child rather than sending the child to public or private school? School districts have a duty under Connecticut General Statutes section 10-220 to “cause” children between the ages of 5 and 18 living in the district to attend school, and […]
With seemingly little notice or fan-fare, the General Assembly modified a number of education statutes regarding student discipline including the statute providing for the out of school suspension of students. PA 07-66, effective July 1, 2008, generally prohibits out-of-school suspensions, and extends from five to 10 days, the maximum length of in-school suspensions. Current law […]
In at least partial response to an incident in which a pedestrian was struck and killed by a school bus driver who had cocaine in his system, a law has been passed which now requires background checks and random drug testing of school bus drivers. While bus drivers employed by school districts are already subject to […]
