The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor has raised new considerations for districts faced with requests from parents to excuse students from instruction
Continue Reading Supreme Court Addresses Religious Opt-Outs for LGBTQ-Inclusive Curricular Materials in Elementary Schools
As discussed in our prior blog post, the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) recently issued a Dear Colleague letter
Continue Reading OCR Issues Frequently Asked Questions and Connecticut State Board of Education Offers Guidance Regarding Dear Colleague Letter on Racial Discrimination and DEI
On February 14, 2025, the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance clarifying how the Department will interpret federal laws
Continue Reading OCR Issues “Dear Colleague” Letter on Racial Discrimination
On January 11, 2022, the federal District Court for the District of Connecticut dismissed a lawsuit brought by two associations and three individuals against three
Continue Reading District Court Dismisses Challenge to Elimination of Religious Exemptions from School Vaccine Mandates
In recent years male students who were removed from school following a Title IX investigation have sued, claiming that the school’s investigation was unfair and
Continue Reading Insufficient Investigation Allows Lawsuit to Proceed
Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter.
Written by attorney Thomas B. Mooney.
Dear Legal Mailbag:
I am concerned that one of the
Continue Reading CAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – 5/22/2019
On September 8, 2016, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) jointly released new guidance regarding school resource officer programs. The new Safe School-based Enforcement through Collaboration, Understanding, and Respect (“SECURe”) rubrics are the result of the collaboration and partnership between these two federal agencies in an attempt to ensure that local and state educational agencies are implementing effective and positive school resource officer programs in the nation’s schools. The SECURe rubric for local educational agencies aims to provide guidance to school districts on how to build trust between students and law enforcement officials through the school resource officer programs, while ensuring that school resource officer programs are administered responsibly in a non-discriminatory manner that takes a proactive approach to keeping students out of the school-to-prison pipeline.Continue Reading U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice Release Dear Colleague Letters Jointly Announcing New SECURe Rubrics for School Resource Officer Programs
This post originally appeared on the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
There’s been lots of talk lately about the Confederate flag and its symbolism in the aftermath of the Charleston shootings.
But I wondered: How has this flag come up in the context of employment discrimination cases?
It’s actually referenced a bunch according to a quick search by Google. A case out ofAlabama alleged a racially hostile environment with displays of the flag in 2011. Indeed, in another case, an employee complained that various co-workers wore lots of clothes adorned with the Confederate flag.
So yes, displays of the flag at work can cause issues and give rise to discrimination claims. Not a big surprise. (Notably, my search did not highlight any particular displays of the Confederate flag coming up in Connecticut state or federal court cases.)Continue Reading Can Employee Display a Confederate Flag on Facebook as Free Speech? Or Can Employer Take Action?
In response to the Ebola epidemic, the U.S. Department of Education (“USDOE”) has issued a letter to schools and districts providing updated guidance and resources to assist schools and communities in establishing practices and protocols related to Ebola, as well as seasonal flu.
The most comprehensive resource provided through this letter, which was issued in December 2014, is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the “CDC”). The CDC guidance outlines actions school officials may implement, in consultation with public health authorities, to further reduce the potential risk of Ebola transmission in schools. In doing so, the CDC delineates the roles of public health officials and educators and warns against educators usurping the responsibilities of public health officials. Specifically, this guidance clarifies and confirms that the assessment of a person’s risk of Ebola exposure and evaluation of clinical condition to determine appropriate public health actions is within the purview of public health authorities and advises that only public health authorities may determine whether, and to what extent, monitoring or restriction on movement, including the issue of school attendance, is necessary.
Conversely, the CDC guidance advises educators to develop an emergency operations plan for responding to Ebola-related incidents, including situations where a school may need to contain the disease. To assist in this process, the CDC guidance provides educators with practical considerations and advises the review of, and compliance with, “public health codes, infection control guidance, and applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.” Further, the guidance provides school officials with recommended actions based on a person’s identified risk level, which may be found here.
In addressing issues related to Ebola, the CDC reminds schools and districts to be cognizant and compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPPA”) and any applicable privacy laws when working with public health authorities to establish protocols for communication and implementation of recommendations relative to Ebola.
Continue Reading U.S. Department of Education Issues Guidance on Ebola for K-12 Schools
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed a teacher’s claim that the school district employer failed to provide her with statutory
Continue Reading Teacher’s Reduction in Hours to Half-Time Does Not Constitute a Termination