Last month a Superior Court decision reminded us that a “board of education” is not the same thing as a “school district.” This can be a crucial distinction in protecting students, teachers and staff. The ruling will end up costing someone more than embarrassment. The eighty-two year-old plaintiff in Mulvihill v. Danbury Public Schools meant […]
The New York Times reported today that wealthier families are much more likely to have their child qualified for a 504 plan. Psychologists cost money, noted the Times, and parents with means can afford to hire them for an evaluation. As a result, students in Weston are eight times more likely to have accommodations than […]
A Title IX attorney will advise that as of today schools in Connecticut will not violate federal law if they tell transgender students to use the bathroom of the sex they were born with. Title IX itself says nothing about the choice. Starting in 1972 it simply outlawed discrimination “on the basis of sex.” A […]
This month the Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving “disruption” of activities at school. Most cases on “disruption” feature a student appealing his suspension for breaking the school’s policy on bad language or risky behavior. In this one a grown man appealed a $500 fine. In December 2014 a graduate student named […]
For years students in Bridgeport, Hartford and other cities have gone to court to find a way to get the education their local public schools never gave them. In September United States District Court judge Alvin Thompson ruled that at least in federal court, students still cannot hold Connecticut liable for this failure. In this […]
Last week a federal district judge ruled that students in Detroit could not sue their governor for the shabbiness of their schools. They claimed that the United States Constitution guaranteed them a chance to read and write. Their poor schools denied them that right, they argued.The judge agreed their schools were deplorable. He agreed that […]
The tragedy of Sandy Hook in 2012 keeps making waves in the law. Two years ago a judge ruled in favor of the Remington gun company. Last week a Superior Court judge in New Haven ruled in favor of the town of Newtown. The parents of two victims had sued the town and its board […]
We seem to see a story in the news every week of a school taking steps against a bomb or gun scare. Connecticut is one of five states with a system already in place to help schools and the police respond. Since 2011 police in Connecticut have been able to obtain a warrant to search […]
This week an 11-year old Fifth Grader in Illinois was allowed to take her medical marijuana to school. Diagnosed with leukemia, the girl had undergone chemotherapy that led to daily seizures. She applied marijuana at home in foot patches and rubbing oil. It brought her seizures under control. Her parents asked the school to let […]
Professional players’ protest of the national anthem is old news. But last month a high school football player protested in the same way at his California school’s games. Unlike the pros, he needed a court order to allow him to exercise his First Amendment right. He began his protest soon after the start of the […]