How Teacher Tenure Figures Into the November
Election
[KQED, 10/27/14]
But for those outside
education, it may be hard to understand why teacher tenure is such a big deal,
especially during an election season in which both Democrats
and Republicans are seizing on the issue to win votes. Let’s rewind the clock
for a moment.
New Mexico Court Tosses Student
Confession on Alcohol at School
[School Law
Blog, 10/24/14]
The state high
court threw out a high school student's admission about drinking because he
received no warning of his right to remain silent. The state's highest court ruled 5-0 that the student
identified as Antonio T. did not waive his state statutory right to remain
silent about the alcohol use.
Ninth Circuit rules school district’s procedural violation of IDEA
resulted in special education student being denied a free appropriate public
education [Legal Clips, 10/22/14]
In a 2-1 split, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
three-judge panel has ruled that a California school district’s failure to
comply with the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act’s (IDEA) procedural requirement to provide parents with
educational testing data deprived the parents of the opportunity to
meaningfully participate in the creation of their son’s individualized
education program (IEP) thereby denying the student a free
appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA.
Read M.M. v. Lafayette School Dist.:
Schools warned on
legalities of anti-bullying
[EdSource, 10/23/14]
Citing an “ever-increasing”
number of complaints about the bullying of students with disabilities, the
federal government issued a letter this week reminding schools of their legal
responsibility to stop such bullying or risk violating federal
anti-discrimination laws.
See also “Constitutional Implications of
Punishing Cyber-Bullying” [Ed Law
Prof Blog, 10/28/14]:
Sayreville head football coach and
four staff members suspended
[Legal Clips, 10/22/14]
Sayreville
Board of Education (SBOE) has unanimously upheld the decision to suspend head
football coach George Najjar and four members of his staff. SBOE President
Kevin Ciak stressed that the suspensions of Najjar and the four other tenured
district employees, who are also on the football coaching staff, are
"consistent with an ongoing and not yet completed investigation.” Najjar
and the other tenured members of his staff have also been suspended from their
teaching positions.
Appeals
Court Rejects Police Handcuffing of Elementary Student
[School Law Blog, 10/21/14]
A federal
appeals court has upheld most of a jury verdict against two police officers and
the city of Sonora, Calif., in the handcuffing and transport of an 11-year-old
student who was unresponsive to a school official at recess. An en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th
Circuit, in San Francisco, ruled 7-4 that the two officers did not have
qualified immunity over handcuffing the student identified as C.B., who had
failed to take his medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on
what the student later called a "rough day."
Parents
Potentially Liable for Son's Fake Facebook Account, Georgia Court Rules
In a novel
decision, a Georgia state appeals court has ruled that parents of a 7th grader
who created a fake Facebook account mocking a classmate are potentially liable
for negligence for not forcing him to close the account once they learned of it
Lawsuit alleges students’
instruction lacking
[EdSource, 10/14/14]
Jefferson High School in Los
Angeles – where some students waited two months for their class schedules and
were assigned to classes with no content, given menial administrative tasks or
sent home early – may be an extreme example of lost instructional time but it
is not an isolated case, according to a class-action lawsuit.
[Legal Clips, 10/7/14]
Easton Area School District (EASD) has reached an agreement
with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) settling a
suit brought by ACLU-PA on behalf of two former middle school students who were
prohibited from wearing breast cancer awareness bracelets which contained the
slogan "I ♥ Boobies!" at school.
Teachers Who Report Abuse: Law Enforcement Agents or
Good Samaritans?
]EdLaw Prof
Blog, 10/6/14]: Last week, the Supreme Court granted cert in Ohio
v. Clark, a case involving whether teachers' obligation to report
suspected child abuse makes them law enforcement for purposes of the
Confrontation Clause.
Follow the case on the SCOTUS blog:
The Court Revisits Hearsay and the 6th
Amendment [Justia, 10/15/14]:
Professor Colb discusses a case (Ohio v. Clark) regarding the meaning
of the 6th amendment’s Confrontation Clause.
Ohio v. Clark: Do
Children’s Statements Have to Be Live testimony? [Huff Post, 10/28/14]: On
October 2 the Supreme Court agreed to review a decision from Ohio which could
help make abused children safer, or not. The case raises the question of
whether children's statements to adults reporting their own abuse can be heard
in court.
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