EdLawConnect Blog

In August 2015, the governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1101, which as of January 1, 2016 will prohibit school districts from undertaking investigations regarding a student’s residency unless the governing board has adopted a policy establishing protocols and limitations on that investigation process. AB 1101 adds section 48204.2 to the Education Code and requires the policy to: identify ...

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 ...

Current law requires that school age children receive vaccines for certain infectious diseases before admission to a public or private school or day care, unless an exemption applies. “Day care” includes child care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home or development center.  In certain circumstances, students may be conditionally admitted, after which the school or day care must ...

Summer is here, meaning some of your students will be taking on summer jobs. Although school may not be in session, all minors under 18 years of age (except in limited circumstances) must still have a permit to work. (Educ. Code § 49160, Labor Code § 1299.)

Work permits are issued for employment at a specified address. (Educ. Code §§ 49915, 49163). Permits must note the maximum number of hours a minor may work in a ...

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 ...

The Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries (known as the “E-rate program”) is the government’s largest educational technology program and is implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The E-rate program helps eligible schools obtain affordable broadband (internet connection).

In July and December 2014, the FCC adopted E-rate Modernization Orders. Based on data ...

Despite YouTube’s Popularity with School-Age Youth, Teachers Should Think Twice Before Asking Students to Upload Class Projects to YouTube

In a previous post, we discussed some of the legal issues associated with students uploading coursework on YouTube. This EdLawConnect entry continues that discussion.

Bullying-Related Concerns

Perhaps the most salient concern with students uploading their own ...

On September 28, 2014, Governor Brown signed into law SB 1174 (Lara), which will give voters an opportunity to rescind much of Proposition 227 (Prop 227), the 1998 initiative that replaced bilingual education with English immersion classes.  If passed, the new law will enable California’s public schools to provide multilingual instruction, granting more students access to valuable language skills and giving parents more choice over their children’s education.  In response to Governor Brown’s passage of SB 1174, Senator Ricardo Lara stated:

Despite YouTube’s Popularity with School-Age Youth, Teachers Should Think Twice Before Asking Students to Upload Class Projects to YouTube

Several studies have reported that YouTube is the most popular social media site among teenagers. Some studies and articles report teens and “tweens” prefer YouTube to both traditional television and other social networking sites.

In light of YouTube’s ...

The current measles outbreak in Southern California has underscored the importance of schools maintaining current and complete lists of students with immunization exemptions on file.