Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter
Dear Legal Mailbag,
As the principal of an elementary school, I usually get along great with my Superintendent.
Continue Reading CAS Legal Mailbag – 10/10/24
Massachusetts’ Supreme Court Finds Colleges May Face Liability for Student Suicide Under Certain Circumstances
Earlier this month, Massachusetts’ highest court ruled favorably for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) and three school officials in a wrongful death lawsuit closely watched
Continue Reading Massachusetts’ Supreme Court Finds Colleges May Face Liability for Student Suicide Under Certain Circumstances
NAIS and TABS Task Force Issue Final Report on Educator Sexual Misconduct
The Independent School Task Force on Educator Sexual Misconduct has released its final report, Prevention and Response: Recommendations for Independent School Leaders. This report incorporates feedback submitted in response to the August 2017 draft report released for comment and feedback. The Task Force was formed in the Summer of 2016 as a collaboration between the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) and was characterized as a “call to action” for schools to engage in a comprehensive and thoughtful review of policies and procedures to help ensure safe environments for students.
As the title implies, the report first walks through recommendations for steps independent schools should take to prevent incidents of educator sexual misconduct from occurring, followed by guidance and recommendations for response to allegations. In making these recommendations, the Task Force lauded schools which demonstrate honesty and openness on this issue and which continue to encourage transparency within the independent school community. A summary of the report’s recommendations are outlined below.Continue Reading NAIS and TABS Task Force Issue Final Report on Educator Sexual Misconduct
Statutory Changes to Athletic Trainer Laws: What’s New?
Earlier this summer, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act No. 17-195, An Act Concerning Athletic Trainers (the “Act”), which amended the statute governing the
Continue Reading Statutory Changes to Athletic Trainer Laws: What’s New?
U.S. Department of Education Announces Intention to Review and Replace Title IX Regulations Concerning Sexual Harassment and Violence
On Thursday, in a speech by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos, the Department announced that it would undertake a review of its current
Continue Reading U.S. Department of Education Announces Intention to Review and Replace Title IX Regulations Concerning Sexual Harassment and Violence
Connecticut Supreme Court Issues Decision in Munn v. Hotchkiss
On Friday, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in Munn v. Hotchkiss School, the case involving a private school student who contracted tick-borne encephalitis on a school-sponsored trip to China. In its ruling, the Supreme Court found unanimously that 1) the state’s public policy supports imposing an affirmative duty on schools to warn about and protect against the risk of insect-borne diseases and 2) an award of $41.5 million for the breach of that duty fell within the limits of just compensation.
Cara Munn was a 15-year-old student who participated in a school-sponsored trip to China in 2007. The itinerary for this trip included a visit to Mount Pan, located in a forested region of northeast China. Upon descending the mountain on foot, the student suffered several insect bites, and ten days later, began to experience symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis. Though her condition subsequently stabilized, the student suffered permanent brain damage and has lost the ability to speak and has limited control of her facial muscles. The student and her family sued the school for negligence. Following a 2013 jury trial, a federal district court in Bridgeport found the school negligent for failing to warn the student and her parents about the remote possibility of insect-borne diseases and ordered the school to pay $41.5 million in damages—$31.5 million of which was for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. The school appealed. In August 2015, the Second Circuit found that the student’s injuries were foreseeable; however, the court requested guidance from the Connecticut Supreme Court on two specific issues: 1) whether state public policy imposed a legal duty on schools “to warn or protect against the foreseeable risk of a serious insect-borne disease when organizing a trip abroad and, if so, 2) whether the jury’s damages award, particularly the noneconomic portion, warranted [vacation of or reduction in the jury’s damages award].”
Continue Reading Connecticut Supreme Court Issues Decision in Munn v. Hotchkiss
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
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
State Department of Education Issues Guidance On School Climate Assessments
The Connecticut State Department of Education (“CSDE”) has issued guidance on school climate assessment instruments. All public school districts, including magnet and charter schools, and
Continue Reading State Department of Education Issues Guidance On School Climate Assessments
School’s Restriction on Students Wearing American Flag Shirts Upheld by Federal Court
A federal appeals court has upheld a California school’s decision to bar white students from wearing shirts depicting the U.S. flag during the school’s Cinco
State Department of Education Releases Report on School Districts’ Use of Restraint and Seclusion
The Connecticut Department of Education (CDE) recently released a report on the use of restraint and seclusion by Connecticut public schools in the 2012-13 school
Continue Reading State Department of Education Releases Report on School Districts’ Use of Restraint and Seclusion