EdLawConnect Blog

Under Public Contract Code sections 20111 and 20651, school and community college districts must competitively bid and award a contract involving the expenditure of more than $50,000, adjusted for inflation, to the lowest responsible bidder. The threshold for the bidding requirement is increased annually to reflect the change in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services for the United States, as published by the United States Department of Commerce for the 12-month period ending in the prior fiscal year. The adjustment is not the same as the revenue limit cost-of-living adjustment.

Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear two sexual harassment cases of interest to school districts nationwide: (1) a case involving allegations of sexual harassment brought by a student against a teacher, and (2) a case involving allegations of sexual harassment brought by a teacher regarding the harassing conduct of a student.

In Jane Doe v. Willits Unified School District et al., an ...

Where is the boundary between the free speech rights of public employees who express controversial or offensive ideas or opinions, and the authority of public employers to limit employee speech that is claimed to be inconsistent with policies prohibiting harassment or other discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics? This question can be particularly ...

In California, employers are required to have workplace postings regarding employee rights and responsibilities under the Fair Employment and Housing Act which are produced by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”). California recently updated three of these mandatory DFEH posters as a result of revisions to state law that went into effect on January 1, 2013.

Specifically, the DFEH ...

Since the advent of the cellular phone camera, nearly every high school student is equipped to surreptitiously videotape his/her teacher.  While this practice is statutorily-prohibited, what happens when a student breaks the rule and the cellular phone video depicts an image that would subject the teacher to discipline?

To be clear, the Education Code expressly prohibits surreptitiously videotaping a ...

California, along with 46 other states and the District of Columbia, are gearing-up to implement the common core standards for Math and English Language Arts in 2014. The intent of developing a national common core standard was to eliminate gaps in academic expectations throughout the United States and to more closely align the United States academic standards with international standards. The common core ...