EdLawConnect Blog

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 ...

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); ...

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).)

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 – commonly known as “COBRA” – gives certain former employees, their spouses, and dependent children the right to continue health coverage at the employer’s group rates. COBRA generally obligates both public and private employers with 20 or more employees to offer COBRA coverage when coverage is lost due to certain “qualifying events.”

State Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), with the support of the California School Boards Association (“CSBA”), has drafted a bill that would streamline the teacher dismissal process and specify additional types of conduct that can be charged by school districts. Senate Bill 843 would also make teacher dismissal procedures fairer for school districts, make it easier to remove teachers charged with ...

If you did a double-take when you read the title of this post, or re-read it to make sure you saw what you thought you saw, you are probably not alone. But it is accurate: on February 27, 2014 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that high school administrators did not violate the constitutional rights of students when it required them to turn their American flag shirts inside-out or go home for the remainder ...

Imagine the unpleasant surprise one superintendent got recently when he received a warning letter from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for failing to report that a teacher had been let go following allegations that she had pulled a child’s ear. Of course, most school administrators are aware that Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 80303, requires notification to the CTC whenever a certificated employee’s employment status changes as a result of allegations of misconduct. But here, the employee was a substitute teacher. And the superintendent knew nothing about the decision not to use the substitute in the future.

Nothing illustrates how public schools have become lightning rods for social issues like Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1266, which amended Education Code section 221.5 as of January 1, 2014.

According to the Legislative Digest, AB 1266 “would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities ...

A growing trend among school districts across California is to allow staff and students to Bring Your Own Device (“BYOD”) to the school campus.  Staffs have, and many already use, their own personal devices, such as smartphones and iPad for instruction and administration due to the efficiency and capabilities of these devices.  BYOD can boost staff performance because it eliminates limitations as to ...

The Governor and Legislature kept busy in 2013 enacting new or amended laws that affect employment in California. Most of the new laws provide additional protections for employees. Public and private employers alike should take note of the changes for 2014:

Criminal Background Checks

Assembly Bill 218 applies to government agencies, not private employers. Starting July 1, 2014, it prohibits state and ...