EdLawConnect Blog

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On May 2, 2017, the First District Court of Appeal issued an unpublished opinion in CTAN v. Mt.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 ...

Beginning in 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated complaints against the University of California, Berkeley, that Berkeley’s free audio and video online content was not fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. The primary complaint was filed by the National Association for the Deaf on behalf of members of the public who alleged they could not adequately access course content ...

An individual has a disability under the Title II of the ADA (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.  (28 C.F.R. Part 35.108(a)(1))  Local educational agencies (“LEA”) must ...

Senate Bill 792 (“SB 792”), which went into effect on September 1, 2016, requires employees and volunteers of day care centers (including preschools) licensed by the California Department of Social Services (“CDSS”) to be vaccinated for influenza, pertussis, and measles. The author of SB 792, Senator Mendoza, captured the legislative intent of the bill in the Comments to the Senate Bill Analysis:

Senate Bill 1072, approved by the Governor in September 2016, brings to fruition efforts to guard against students being left unattended on a schoolbus. (Statutes of 2016, ch. 721.) By the 2018-2019 school year, schoolbuses and other qualifying vehicles must be equipped with an alarm system that essentially forces bus drivers to check the bus at the end of a route to make certain all children are off the ...

In early January 2017, the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, established under the Obama Administration in 2014, released “Preventing and Addressing Campus Sexual Misconduct: A Guide for University and College Presidents, Chancellors, and Senior Administrators.” The Guide, which is available online (click here), offers insight and practical recommendations in six ...