On August 9, 2016, the Illinois Attorney General issued a binding opinion to the Chicago Police Department (CPD), finding that the Department had failed to conduct a reasonably adequate search…
On August 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (“OSERS”) issued guidance emphasizing the requirement that schools provide positive behavioral supports to students…
On August 21, 2016, a federal court in Texas granted an injunction enjoining the federal government from enforcing the terms of a “Dear Colleague Letter” issued by the Department of…
In Doe v. Cape Elizabeth School District, the First Circuit Court of Appeals (which does not govern Illinois) weighed an important question of whether a student with a strong academic…
Asthma Action Plans & Asthma Episode Emergency Response Protocol – HB 6333 Effective immediately, a new law requires schools districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools annually to request an asthma…
On August 5, 2016, Governor Rauner signed HB 5529, which extends the time period during which school districts may make certain interfund transfers from the previous sunset date of June…
In a recent Seventh Circuit opinion, Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, the court reluctantly affirmed a district court’s holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…
HLERK has continued to monitor the Federal Communication Commission’s rulings on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. On June 18, 2015, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling which, in…
On July 29, 2016, the Governor signed into law the Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act. This new law (P.A. 99-0678), effective immediately, protects the free speech rights of public…
As a result of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (“GATA”), 30 ILCS 708/1 et seq., state agencies, including ISBE, are implementing a new process requiring school districts to pre-qualify…