In Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County, Florida, et al., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) held that a Florida…
Jennifer M. Deutch
As we previously reported in 2019, three female student athletes filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights concerning the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s (“CIAC”) policy that allows transgender…
As we previously reported, on August 13, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 219 into law as Public Act 102-0339, which amended the Illinois School Code regarding the use of…
For the last several school years, and specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have faced significant challenges in securing placements for students in residential facilities approved by the Illinois State…
The Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education’s 22nd Annual Fall Conference on October 21 will feature presentations by Michelle Todd, Jessica Nguyen, Jen Deutch, Aimée LeBlanc, Kaitlin Atlas and Ben Shaw.
On July 28, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 40 into law as Public Act 102-0172 and House Bill 2748 into law as Public Act 102-0173. The two bills, both effective immediately, extend transition services for eligible students based on when they turned 22 years old. Previously, transition services for eligible students went through age 21, ending the day before the student’s 22nd birthday, regardless of when that date fell during the school year.
On August 13, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 219 (“HB 219”) into law as Public Act 102-0339, amending the Illinois School Code regarding the use of isolated time out,…
On June 23, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in a landmark off-campus student speech case in favor of the student. The Court held that the student’s First Amendment rights were violated when she was removed from the cheerleading team due to inappropriate social media posts regarding the school. This ruling provides clarity to school districts in whether and to what extent off-campus speech may be regulated.
On June 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued its Notice of Interpretation enforcing Title IX’s protection of students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Seventh Circuit upheld a Wisconsin district court’s dismissal of a middle school student’s claims of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination, finding that the school’s response to the claims did not rise to the level of deliberate indifference as defined by the August 2020 Title IX regulations.