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 […]
There has been some confusion lately as to whether state statutes concerning appropriate license endorsements for school buses also apply to the drivers of passenger cars used to transport school students to extracurricular activities. So much confusion, that the State of Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recently received a Petition for Declaratory Ruling seeking clarification […]
The principal of the Juneau-Douglas High School allowed students and staff, during school hours, to leave class and observe as the Olympic Torch Relay passed through Juneau. Joseph Frederick, a senior at the high school, came to school late that day but joined the spectators across the street from the school to watch the relay. He, […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants parents independent legal rights which encompass the entitlement to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for their child. The decision means that non-attorney parents can litigate IDEA claims in federal court unrepresented by legal counsel, because they are acting on […]
This past December, new Federal Court rules for electronic discovery went into place. In short, the rules require the retention and disclosure of electronically stored data, including e-mails, which relate to any federal court lawsuits in which the district is involved. Specifically, the new rules provide that (1) a party may serve interrogatories concerning and/or request […]
Responding to requests for clarification of the new 2006 IDEA regulations issued in the area of student discipline, OSERS issued non-binding guidance entitled “Questions and Answers on Discipline Procedures”, found at 47 IDELR 227 (OSERS 2007). In this commentary, OSERS states that the “2004 amendments to section 615(k) of the IDEA were intended to address […]
