CTC Corner: Accessibility of Online Services and Programs Focus of Enforcement by DOJ andOCR
On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued a joint Dear Colleague letter (“Letter”) reminding postsecondary institutions of their obligations to ensure that the online...
On the Call Podcast: Field Trips
Make sure your permission slip is signed and your seat belt is fastened as Jeremy and Erin take us on the field trip roller coaster ride in this season's final episode. They share insights about the laws covering field trips under 504 and IDEA and complications you...
Short Series Podcast: Transgender K-12, Taking a Look Back
In this 6-episode series of The Ennis Britton Short Series Podcast: Transgender K-12, attorneys Erin Wessendorf-Wortman and Giselle Spencer take a deep dive into the ever-changing landscape of K-12 schools and transgender students. They will cover the history and...
On the Call Podcast: Extracurricular Activities
Go Team! Whether it's cheerleading, football, e-sports or D&D, ensuring your coaches and club advisors have the proper game plan for extracurricular activity participation can keep you out of the penalty box. Erin and Jeremy cover some of the significant guidance...
Plan For Payment In Lieu of Transportation
Successful transportation programs have had to adjust their timelines for declaring transportation impractical and offering payment in lieu of transportation (PILOT) due to new statutory deadlines and processes enacted in 2021. Here are some reminders about those...
Special Education Update: Court Limits Federal COVID-19 Litigation
Simpson-Vlach v. Michigan Dep’t of Educ. (6th Cir. 5/11/23) On May 11, 2023, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request of a group of parents to issue an order governing special education services during future school closures like those that occurred...
Career Tech Corner: Governor DeWine and the Ohio House Prioritize Career Technical Centers in Ohio Budget
In the proposed budget awaiting Senate approval for the upcoming fiscal year, the Ohio House followed Governor Mike DeWine’s lead and made career technical centers a priority. H.B. 33 which passed the Ohio House on April 26, 2023, includes a $100 million appropriation...
Want to Use Cooperative Purchasing Power for Construction Services? Call Your Representatives!
HB 145, 135th General Assembly There is legislation currently pending in the House to clarify that ORC 9.48 applies to construction services. The attorneys here at Ennis Britton frequently hear from superintendents, treasurers, and business managers from around the...
Court of Appeals Overrules Trial Court in Employee Termination Matter
Matthews v. Springfield-Clark CTC Bd. of Edn., 2023-Ohio-1304. Springfield Clark CTC terminated a custodial supervisor for a variety of reasons, including, going into his supervisor’s office and reviewing, copying, and removing documents, all of which were supported...
Court Finds Coach Retweeting Book Passage was Fair Use
Bell v. The Milwaukee Bd. of Sch. Dirs., 123 LRP 2649 (E.D. Wis. 12/21/22). The Eastern District of Wisconsin recently dismissed an author’s copyright infringement claim against a high school basketball coach and school district finding in favor of the school...
The 9th Circuit Rules On Graduation Dress Code
Waln v. Dysart Sch. Dist., 54 F.4th 1152 (9th Cir. 2022). In 2019, Dysart School District prohibited a student from decorating her graduation cap. The school district had a graduation policy that prohibited students from decorating their graduation caps; however, the...
On the Call Podcast: Staffing Shortages
What's your favorite carnival game? "Whack-A-Mole" or the "Ring Toss", perhaps? Every day can feel like a never ending carnival game when trying to balance the needs of special education students during unprecedented staffing shortages exacerbated by the pandemic....
On the Call Podcast: MDR Change of Placement
Educators and administrators are some of the kindest people around and, in an effort to make it easy for parents, will sometimes try to avoid the MDR process when student discipline becomes an issue. But side-stepping the MDR process and inadvertently making a...
Court of Appeals Holds that a Township’s Email Lists are Not Public Records
Hicks v. Union Twp., 2023-Ohio-874 The Twelfth District Court of Appeals (Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Preble, Warren) recently ruled in a public records case that a township’s email and mail lists, used by the township for the publication of...
Special Education Update: U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools
On March 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously determined that parents do not have to exhaust their IDEA administrative remedies if they seek only monetary damages under Section 504 or the ADA. In this case (Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools “Sturgis”) the school...
Career Tech Corner: CTC Options for Acquiring Sites for Instruction
As Career Technical Centers (CTC) offer ever-expanding curricula and training in more advanced and technical fields, there may be a need for new space for hands-on learning and training. Perhaps your district is interested in erecting a lab for manufacturing...
Recent Federal Changes Impacting Pregnant and Nursing Workers
In an attempt to create new legal protections and remedies for individuals who are pregnant or nursing, Congress recently passed two acts, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which...
On the Call Podcast: Parent Participation
Determining the right amount of parent participation can feel like rowing a boat in a thunderstorm. Jeremy and Erin try to help you steer the boat by identifying what is required and needed versus what is not, and how to find the right balance of engagement and...
Update: USDOE New Proposed Rule on Title IX
On April 6th, the U.S. Department of Education proposed a rule that would build upon Title IX and apply to federally funded K-12 schools. The proposed rule would prohibit a blanket ban or a "one size fits all" policy that bans transgender students from participating...
On the Call Podcast: MDR Exceptions
Was it Mrs. Peacock in the library with the candlestick? Sometimes dealing with the exceptions under a MDR can feel like playing a game of Clue. Jeremy and Erin help solve some of the mysteries when dealing with the three primary types of exceptions . They also...
On the Call Podcast: Parent Advocates
The addition of a parent advocate can quickly change the dynamic of IEP planning meetings from sweet to sour. Jeremy and Erin discuss the law surrounding IEP team membership specifically defined under IDEA and how you do or don't define "expertise and specialized...