EdLawConnect Blog

In June the U.S. Department of Education launched a new website related to student privacy issues. The website serves as the primary source of best-practice tips, technical assistance, and training on the administration of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other topics related to student privacy. (Access the website at https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/.)

The website replaces the ...

As of January 1, 2017, the California Public Records Act allows public agencies, including school districts to “direct[] a member of the public to the location on the Internet Web site where the public record is posted.” (Gov. Code, § 6253(f).) However, if the requesting party is unable to access or reproduce the online record, the agency must “promptly provide a copy of the public record.” ...

Identifying a need “to step up the pace of improvement” within the California Community College (CCC) system, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley recently announced the CCC Board of Governors’ adoption of a strategic vision, set forth in a new report titled “Vision for Success.” The report articulates various goals and commitments intended to overcome the challenges facing the CCC system to better ...

As schools reopen for the new year, many students will arrive with smartphones in their pockets or backpacks, loaded with apps that can create headaches for parents, teachers, and administrators. Some apps, by design, allow kids to hide images and data, and even the existence of the apps themselves. Many apps cost nothing and require no age verification (or verification via a simple check mark). Depending on ...

Starting July 1, 2017, educational institutions in California subject to Title IX must ensure their websites include the specific Title IX information set forth in Education Code section 221.61.  This law applies to schools, charter schools, school districts and County Offices of Education.  The required Title IX information includes: 1) the name and contact information of the institution’s Title IX ...

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits sex discrimination by any educational institution that receives federal funds.  Sex discrimination under Title IX includes sexual violence such as rape and sexual assault.  In order to address sexual violence and comply with Title IX, the federal government suggests that education institutions coordinate with local law enforcement to make ...

On May 2, 2017, the First District Court of Appeal issued an unpublished opinion in CTAN v. Mt. Diablo Unified School District, (see AALRR Alert) which specifically rejected the Davis v. Fresno lease-leaseback requirements of a “genuine” lease and contractor financing.   AALRR on behalf of the amici curiae Coalition for Adequate School Housing and the Association of California Construction Managers ...

Ransomware is a profitable criminal enterprise that continues to expand while targeting the education sector.

Ransomware is a form of damaging software used by hackers to prevent or limit users from accessing the user’s own system, either by locking the system’s screen or by locking the files. It’s called ransomware because the attackers demand to be paid a “ransom” before allowing a victim to ...

In the past, the IDEA’s exhaustion requirement has been applied in various parts of the United States to routinely bar lawsuits for injunctive relieve and/or money damages against school districts and their employees for violations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), when administrative due process procedures were ...

California’s SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) laws are intended to prevent litigation filed for the improper purpose of censoring, intimidating, or silencing critics. (Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16.)  A defendant in a lawsuit that may improperly silence his speech may file an “anti-SLAPP” motion in the case, designed to be an efficient and cost-effective defense against ...