EdLawConnect Blog

Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, section 80303, requires a report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing within 30 days of certain employment actions. Amendments to section 80303 have been approved by the State Board of Education and take effect July 1, 2014. The amendments clarify some reporting requirements and the procedures by which the public may report a superintendent who fails to ...

In a not-so-unexpected move, Governor Brown signed AB 215 (Buchanan) on June 25, 2014. Ostensibly for the purpose of “streamlining” and speeding up the teacher dismissal process and reducing associated costs, the bill makes extensive changes and additions to the already complex statutory process for terminating certificated employees. The bill found its primary support from CTA and EdVoice.

To be ...

To enhance school safety, some school districts have established “tip” lines where students may send emails or text messages to the district about bullying, drugs, alcohol use, fights, or anything else that may adversely impact the health, safety, or welfare of students.  A legal issue that arises from these programs is whether the information in the emails and text messages must be disclosed under the ...

A client recently contacted us with the following situation and questions:  “A teacher broke up a ‘fight’ at school yesterday.  In doing so, he put his hand on one boy’s neck/shoulder to separate him from hitting the other student.  Today, Dad comes on campus and reports to the principal that the teacher put his hands on his son’s neck and that he was going to file a complaint through the sheriff’s ...

With advances in education technology and the prevalence of technology use in general, instructors, system administrators, online service providers, and others are commonly requesting that students and parents supply their email addresses in order to facilitate communications and learning.  Under current California law applicable to K-12 public educational institutions, student email addresses ...

Whether or not door-to-door transportation is needed for a student with disabilities is an IEP team-based decision. To determine whether this type of transportation is required under the IDEA, courts have considered factors including the student’s needs, age, the nature of the student’s disability, the condition of the route to be traveled to the bus stop, the availability of public assistance when ...

In a Tentative Decision announced earlier today, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs in Vergara v. California, concluding that five provisions of the California Education Code are unconstitutional — Education Code section 44929.21 (two year probationary period); Education Code sections 44934, 44938(b)(1)-(2) and 44944 (dismissal of permanent teachers); ...

School districts are required to ensure that extended school year (“ESY”) services are available as necessary in order to provide a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) in accordance with federal and state law. (Title 34 Code of Federal Regulations (“C.F.R.”) Section 300.106(a)(1)) An individual education plan (“IEP”) team must make the determination on an individual basis ...

California schools are not immune from the increased use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), which include e-cigarettes, e-hookahs, and other vapor-emitting devices that contain liquid nicotine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of high school students who have used e-cigarettes more than doubled from 2011 to 2012, from 4.7 percent to 10 percent. (CDC, Notes From the Field: Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students—United States (Sept. 6, 2013).) E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco and are marketed as the “healthier” alternative to tobacco cigarettes. However, State Superintendent Tom Torlakson urges school districts to adopt policies that prohibit the use of ENDS to protect youth from becoming addicted to nicotine and thus at greater risk for using tobacco. (Cal. Department of Education, Adopting Policy Prohibiting Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (March 19, 2014).)

On May 19, 2014, AALRR won a motion dismissing a Complaint filed by a developer against a school district in which the developer sought a refund of parcel taxes previously assessed and paid pursuant to two voter-approved parcel tax measures.

The plaintiff, Golden Gate Hill Development Company (“Golden Gate”) filed the action in Alameda Superior Court against the Albany Unified School District ...