EdLawConnect Blog

As the business world becomes more digital and mobile, the swords and shields used in litigation often take the form of electronically stored information. We frequently advise clients and remind opposing counsel to preserve all documents, including electronically stored information, when they reasonably know that litigation might ensue or as soon a potential claim is identified. (See In re Napster, Inc ...

As discussed in our May 29, 2015 entry, “Website Accessibility Under the ADA,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in the absence of regulations, recognized certain industry principles as guiding public accommodations when making websites accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Relying on such guidelines, businesses and public agencies reasonably believed providing ...

One of the most difficult areas of Title IX compliance is coordinating Title IX investigations with local law enforcement agencies.  If coordination is handled correctly, local law enforcement can provide vital assistance to colleges in their efforts to comply with Title IX, and the Clery Act by sharing information and resources.  However, violations of Title IX often occur when colleges allow police ...

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird!  It’s a plane! No…it’s an unmanned aerial device!  No longer the stuff of science fiction, we hear nearly every day about new stories in the media involving unmanned aerial devices – aka drones:

• La Guardia-Bound Jet Has Close Call with Drone (May 29, 2015, NBCNEWYORK.com)
• Dallas Cowboys using drones to prepare players (May 27, 2015, CBS)
• Man detained for trying to fly ...

On September 2, 2014, a California appellate court upheld an order requiring a college math professor to undergo a “fitness for duty examination” (“FFD”) based on behavior that his colleagues considered erratic and threatening in nature.  The court also rebuffed the efforts of the professor’s attorneys to interject themselves into the workplace dispute by placing conditions on the FFD.  The ...

On June 25, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law, which extends leave provisions for community college district (CCD) employees within the first year of an infant’s birth or legal adoption.  In a Rocky Chávez, Assembly Member and the Bill’s sponsor, stated:

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 ...

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 ...

Under current law, postsecondary education institutions, including California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the California State University, are required to follow competitive bidding procedures to procure contracts for goods and services above a certain value.  With respect to California Community Colleges, Public Contract Code section 20651 requires competitive bidding ...

Concerned about an instructor’s behavior and teaching methodologies, a student complains through email to a college.  Is the instructor entitled to a copy of the student’s email in its entirety?  A county office of education deletes emails during the course of routine network maintenance.  Is a parent entitled to electronic copies of emails regarding a student?  These are just two of many scenarios that ...