EdLawConnect Blog

The Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), recognizing that it will continue to receive funding applications from school districts after existing bond authority is no longer available for New Construction and Modernization applications, has implemented new regulations to deal with funding requests. Section 1859.95.1 in Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations establishes how OPSC will ...

Frequently, when a student is involved in the California juvenile dependency or delinquency courts the student’s LEA is unaware of the nature of the student’s involvement and not privy to information that is pertinent to the student’s educational success.  LEA’s are often unaware that they have the right to petition a juvenile court to release copies of juvenile court records for a student within ...

We are often asked by clients how to respond when an employee at work is suspected to be under the influence of an intoxicant or controlled substance. The protections that most public employees enjoy from drug and alcohol testing principally derive from the prohibitions against: (1) "unreasonable searches and seizures" and (2) "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Your response is partly determined ...

Over the years two questions have come up frequently regarding prior written notices to parents/legal guardians:

1.  When is a LEA required to provide prior written notice (“PWN”)?

2.  What constitutes a legally sufficient PWN?

Fortunately for LEAs, the IDEA and case law address both of these questions with some detail.

When Notice is Required

Under the IDEA a parent must be provided with prior written

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) is a Congressional directive to schools receiving any federal funding to eliminate discrimination based on disability from all aspects of school operations. For a student to qualify for Section 504 protection the student must meet three criteria, which are (1) A mental or physical impairment (or ...

PLEASANTON, Calif. —Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo (AALRR) is pleased to welcome partner Elizabeth J. Rho-Ng to its Pleasanton office, where she will work in the firm’s Education Practice.

As many school districts, county offices of education and charter schools (“LEAs”) continue to face extreme financial hardships the proposition of having attorney’s fees awarded to an LEA for legal expenses associated with defending a due process hearing has becomes more alluring. While the IDEA allows LEAs to recover attorney’s fees, the circumstances under which the fees for an LEA can be ...

A California university recently notified students that a 2.75% processing fee would be imposed upon students paying tuition and boarding costs with a credit card. The Director of Student financial services told the LA Times that by shifting the card companies’ cost of processing from the university to the students, the university will save approximately $6.5 million.

Is this processing fee legal? Can my ...

The Legislature has recently provided community college districts with a new way to maximize resources when new legislation becomes effective in January, 2013. (Assembly Bill 1748, Chapter 78).

Education Code section 81378.1 currently provides a relatively simple process for community colleges to enter into leases of certain district property when the leases have terms between five days and five years ...

Complaints alleging violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) will be handled differently by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) beginning January 1, 2013.