In the case of Borden v. School District of the Township of East Brunswick, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a coach’s participation in a pre-game prayer with his football team violated the establishment clause under the endorsement test. The case involved prayer activities that had continued for a number of years. The coach would […]
In Crosby v. Woodbridge Board of Education, the Superior Court confirmed that a public employer is immune from liability for intentional tort allegedly committed by an employee pursuant to General Statutes § 52-557n(a)(2) and therefore is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In this case, a parent brought a claim on behalf of a […]
Commissioner of Education Mark McQuillan issued new guidance dated October 1, 2008 to all school districts to help implement the new requirements of Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-233c requiring all suspensions to be in-school rather than out-of-school (unless certain requirements are met) as of July 1, 2009. This guidance was required by the legislation passed last […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in the case of Doninger v. Niehoff et al., denying a preliminary injunction to a Burlington, Connecticut student that would have allowed the student to run for class office despite being stripped […]
Have you ever received a complaint that you were unfairly charging a member of the public for copying documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because you charged separately for copying each side of a double-sided piece of paper? The Court of Appeals now says this practice is perfectly legitimate, since the dictionary definition of […]
The passage of PA 08-160 which repeals C.G.S. 10-222d, the state’s existing bullying statute effective July 1, 2008, and adds new requirements and changes the definition of bullying seemingly has gone unnoticed. The lack of attention may be because this Act also addresses controversial changes to in school suspension laws which have garnered much attention. Notwithstanding […]
With the close of the 2008 legislative session, HB 5826 An Act Concerning School Learning Environment has passed. The bill postpones from July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009 the effective implementation date for PA 07-66 which generally prohibits out of school suspensions and extends from five to ten days, the maximum length of in-school […]
Today’s bills filed in the General Assembly include Raised Bill 5833, a proposed amendment to Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-119, which would add as a felony criminal charge “obtaining school accommodations by misrepresenting a child’s residence”. This would be defined as a parent, guardian or person acting on behalf of such person (or student if […]
If the last few days are any indication, it promises to be a busy season for the General Assembly, particularly at the Committee on Education. Multiple bills have been raised in both the Senate and the House pertaining to education of school-age children, and most of these have been referred to the Education committee. While […]
The Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations recently issued a decision, Region 16 Board of Education, Decision No. 4270 (2007), in which it held that a unilateral change in the workload of Special Education Teachers constituted a prohibited practice. In doing so, the Board created an exception to the general rule that a unit wide fixed practice […]
