EdLawConnect Blog

Ever wish you could delete that embarrassing picture you posted to Facebook from cyberspace…permanently? California’s new “Eraser Law” gives California minors the ability to do just that. Well, except, maybe not permanently.

Senate Bill 568, approved by the Governor on September 23, 2013 and codified as California Business & Professions Code section 22580 et seq., goes into effect on January 1 ...

On February 26, 2014, the California Supreme Court granted a petition to review the recent Court of Appeal decision of Poole v. Orange County Fire Authority (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 155.

In Poole, a firefighter relying on the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act convinced a California Court of Appeal to order an employer to strike daily logs of a firefighter’s poor performance that were maintained by ...

On July 21, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown announced he signed AB 2127 into law, adding Education Code section 35179.5 and amending section 49475 to limit full-contact football practices at the middle school and high school levels.

Under AB 2127, which takes effect January 1, 2015, drills involving game speed tackling are prohibited in the off-season and are limited to 90 minute sessions twice a ...

On July 22, 2014, two opinions concerning the Affordable Care Act were issued from two different United States Circuit Courts of Appeals. Both opinions analyzed the same lawsuit filed in two different courts. Both opinions reached conclusions that were diametrically opposed to one another.

The first opinion, Halbig v. Burwell, which was decided by a three member panel of the United States Court of Appeals ...

In 1979, California voters added section 6 to Article 13B of the State Constitution, which specifies that if the state imposes any “new program or higher level of service” on any local government (including a school district), the state must reimburse the locality for the costs of the program or increased level of service. (Clovis Unified School District v. Chiang (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 794, 798-799 ...

As new charter schools are developed and continue to grow as an educational option for parents and students, more and more people are seeking answers to the question of what obligations charter schools have under the Federal civil rights laws.  In a nutshell, the same Federal civil rights laws, regulations, and guidance that apply to traditional public schools apply to charter schools in all of facets of ...

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 ...