The Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a -81c does impose liability on employers for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent employees from being subject to hostile work environments based on their sexual orientation.  read more

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Published in the Hartford Courant, February 26, 2012.

Author:  Thomas B. Mooney

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed comprehensive education reforms involving teacher certification, evaluation and tenure, setting off an exciting, constructive public debate about whether and how to change the rules that govern the employment of teachers and administrators.

Reform requires that we change the way we do business. We must moderate seniority rules in favor of considering the abilities and training of teachers in making staffing decisions. We must add time to the school day and school year to increase the time teachers are engaged with students and with each other in professional dialogue. At present, however, these initiatives are often stymied by collective bargaining.

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Shipman & Goodwin is offering Sexual Harassment Prevention Training to our clients this spring. Don't wait until it's too late! There are steps you can take now to protect you and your school from costly litigation. This program will be held on three sperate occasions: April 10th in our Hartford Office, April 12th in our Stamford Office or April 19th in our Hartford Office. Please click on Read More for more information and to register. read more

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Where: 

Rocky Hill Marriott 
100 Capital Boulevard 
Rocky Hill, CT 06067

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Download PDF

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On January 19, 2012, the Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") issued additional guidance to elementary and secondary schools in a "Dear Colleague" Letter and Questions & Answers on the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA FAQs). The ADAA FAQs are timely and provide much-needed guidance to school districts. read more

On December 2, 2011, the United States Department of Education (“Department”) issued revised regulations for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), the federal law that protects the privacy of education records. These new regulations went into effect January 3, 2012. Click "read more" for a brief summary of the most significant revisions to existing FERPA regulations. A complete copy of the final regulations may be accessed here. read more

Although boards of education can only act when they are meeting as a collective body, the actions of individual board members can result in the breach of an agreement reached by the entire Board.  A recent decision from New York, involving a confidentiality provision in a settlement agreement between the Elmira City School District Board of Education and a former employee, illustrates the risk to a board of education from the behavior of individual board members.  read more

The complexity of a school’s duty of care for its students was recently illustrated, under tragic circumstances, in a recent New York Supreme Court appellate decision. In Martinez v. City of New York, 935 N.Y.S.2d 45, the court considered whether the school had breached its duty of care when it released an asthmatic student to his mother. read more

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have amended the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs) to reduce the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). The new regulations restrict all use of hand-held mobile telephones by drivers of commercial motor vehicles with only a few exceptions. read more

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Join us for a Complimentary Breakfast Seminar on February 7, 2011 in our Hartford Office.

The May 1 non-renewal deadline will be here before you know it.  Please join us for this timely discussion regarding important issues related to the non-renewal and termination of non-tenure teachers.  At this workshop, we will discuss the applicable legal background, best practices, and common pitfalls in this area. 

Click on Read More for more information and to .

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The U.S. Department of Education recently issued their first official assessment of the progress that twelve states have made in implementing their reform plans following their receipt of Race to the Top grants. The state-by-state reports show that most winners are struggling to implement new teacher-evaluation systems based, at least in part, on student growth. Many also have issues with their relationships with local school districts, which bear the ultimate responsibility for implementation of the plans. read more

Two recent decisions, one from the Sixth Circuit of Appeals and the other from the Ninth Circuit of Appeals, interestingly with both decisions having a plaintiff named Johnson, offer clarification of the accommodations required by school districts pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). read more

Brought to you by COSA's Board of Directors, this timely webinar on Teacher Discipline is one of a series of 4 webinars reviewing the basics of school law. 

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A ten year teacher in Idaho with a history of depression and bipolar disorder failed to complete her required six semester hours of professional development training, three of which required to be for college credit, in order to maintain her Idaho teaching certificate. The required semester hours could have been completed at any time during the five years that her teaching certificate was valid, which was from September 1, 2002 to September 1, 2007. In the summer of 2007, still short her required three semester hours of college credit, the teacher experienced a major depressive episode which rendered her unable to take any college courses. read more

"I don't think the Killeen case stands for the proposition that all highly mobile students should be evaluated for special education eligibility, but I do think school districts should keep in mind that [certain] red flags may indicate the presence of a disability, and not just the impact of moving," said Leander Dolphin, a school attorney at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Conn.

For example, "issues relating to disruption in a child's education, missing school, and adjustments to multiple transitions -- which are issues for highly mobile students, whether they're in foster care, have parents in the military, or are homeless -- can also be signs of a disability," she said.

Train all staff members on the importance of including highly mobile students in established child find protocol, Dolphin said.

"You have to treat highly mobile children equitably, applying the same triggers as you would for non-mobile students," she said. "I would also recommend training personnel who handle the initial registration and enrollment of these students. They are often on the front line for a family with a history of moving a lot."

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At 8:30 a.m. the morning of November 18, the Department of Labor released its guidance on the new paid sick leave law.  This guidance has been much anticipated, so we wanted to inform you as soon as possible of the release.  You can view the guidance at the following link:  http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/SickLeaveGuidance.pdf 

We will be analyzing the guidance and will provide you with a summary in the near future.  However, if you have immediate questions, please contact Gabe Jiran or Henry Zaccardi at (860) 251-5000. read more

I've Been Elected Board Chair--Now What?

 

Join us December 15, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for an informational seminar on the challenging role of the Board of Education Chairperson.  School law attorneys Tom Mooney and Gary Brochu will discuss the various aspects and unique responsibilities of the role of Board Chairperson, and offer guidance as to how to become an effective Board Chair. 

 Click here to Register

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A group of Shipman & Goodwin attorneys will present at this year's Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE)/Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) Convention, November 18th and 19th on topics including: Breaching the Classroom Wall - Legal Issues Regarding the Utilization of Technology to Bring the World to Students; The Annual Meeting of the Nutmeg Board; Reforming Seniority-Based "Last In, First Out" Layoff Rules to Promote Student Achievement, and Fostering Community Support for Special Education. read more

Now is a good time to train IEP teams on how to handle methodology requests for children with dyslexia, sources say.

“More parents are dialed into advocacy groups that are looking things up on the Internet and searching for ‘quick fixes’ for students with dyslexia,” says Anne H. Littlefield, a school attorney at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Conn. “Other parents who are frustrated with their children’s progress are searching on their own for new alternatives.”

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Shipman & Goodwin is working with the State Department of Education to provide guidance to local and regional school districts on best practices in implementing the new bullying statute. We are pleased to provide the following information:

1. On September 28, 2011, Tom Mooney spoke at a statewide conference on bullying, which was cosponsored by the Connecticut State Department of Education and the Connecticut Association of Schools. You may download a copy of Tom’s outline, The New Bullying Statute: Best Practices.
2. Tom Mooney's talk was recorded by CT-N, and we are pleased to make it available to our clients for training purposes. If you are a client and would like a copy Tom's presentation, please contact us. Provide your organization name, contact person, address and telephone number, and we will send you a complimentary copy of Tom’s presentation on DVD.
3. Julie Fay is working with the State Department of Education to provide further guidance on school district obligations to implement the new law. When it becomes available, we will post the link here.

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