In a report issued January 13, 2010, the Attorney General’s office recommended “as a first step toward full licensure through the Department of Public Health” that the Education Committee of the Connecticut Legislature support one of three options for licensure or certification of behavior analysts operating within Connecticut school districts. According to the AG’s Office […]
In a deal that some National Education Leaders are heralding as a model for school reform throughout the nation, the New Haven Public Schools and the New Haven Federation of Teachers have struck a deal that paves the way for dramatic reform in the New Haven Public Schools and narrowing the achievement gap. In addition to […]
In a new decision issued October 9, 2009, T.Y. v. New York City Dept. of Education, 109 LRP 63646 (2d Cir. 2009), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it is not a procedural violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for the IEP not to name a specific school that is recommended for […]
On October 5, 2009, Governor Rell signed Senate Bill 2053, An Act Implementing the Provisions of the Budget Concerning Education, Authorizing State Grant Commitments for School Building Projects, and Making Changes to the Statutes Concerning Building Projects and Other Education Statutes. Section 56 of this bill addresses CGS 10-233c, Connecticut’s student suspension law. CGS 10-233c […]
As readers may recall, PA 07-66 created new standards for student suspensions in Connecticut requiring that student suspensions pursuant to 10-233c be in-school suspensions, unless the administration determines that the pupil being suspended poses such a danger to persons or property or such a disruption of the educational process that the pupil should be excluded […]
Demonstrating that at least some arbitrators understand the constraints on municipal employers caused by the recession, a panel of arbitrators chaired by Arbitrator Susan Meredith has declined to award a non-certified bargaining unit in the Town of Sterling any wage increase for the 2009-10 fiscal year. It also awarded a 2.5% increase for 2008-09 and a […]
The Department of Justice has just released guidance to help schools examine and respond to the issue of school bullying. In light of Connecticut’s strong anti-bullying laws and its new requirements that schools implement proactive strategies and conduct annual in-service training for certified staff on the topic, administrators are encouraged to view in its entirety […]
The 2009 Connecticut General Assembly has adjourned leaving in its wake seventeen new legislative acts pertaining to education. The 2009 legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor focuses largely on health, safety and environmental related issues among other areas and ranges from an act requiring the use of green cleaning products […]
Last week, the Supreme Court decided Safford Unified School District #1 et. al. v. Redding, the “strip-search” case. The Supreme Court followed the precedent it created in New Jersey v. T.L.O., which set forth the reasonable suspicion standard for school searches, ultimately holding that the strip-search of the student in this case was unreasonable and violated the Fourth Amendment. Under T.L.O.’s reasonable suspicion […]
The Supreme Court ruling in the Forest Grove School District v. T.A. case was released this week. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see this ruling as changing much of anything in the world of special education disputes, at least as far as Connecticut is concerned. Essentially, the Supreme Court ruled that 20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(2)(C)(iii) continues […]
