Ashley Puchalski Thomas on School Districts

District Court Allows First Amendment and Due Process Claims to Proceed in Flynn v. Big Spring School District

Flynn v. Big Spring Sch. Dist., No. 1:22-CV-00961, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168913, at *2 (M.D. Pa. Sep. 19, 2024) (District Court permits Plaintiffs who were regular attendants at school board meetings to move forward with...more

2/25/2025 / Civil Rights Act , Discrimination , Due Process , Equal Protection , First Amendment , Fourteenth Amendment , Free Speech , Public Schools , School Boards , School Districts

School District and Principal Not Liable for Gym Teacher’s Inappropriate Photos of Student

Shaefer v. Chorba, No. 3:23-0019, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170844, at *5 (M.D. Pa. Sep. 25, 2023). A Pennsylvania federal court dismissed a former student’s § 1983 claim against a school district and principal arising from a...more

12/27/2023 / Employee Misconduct , Employment Policies , Human Resources Professionals , Professors , Risk Assessment , School Districts , School Safety , Students , Teachers

Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction for Title IX Claim, Precluding School District from Preventing Female Students from...

Brooks v. State Coll. Area Sch. Dist., No. 4:22-CV-01335, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217173, at *2 (M.D. Pa. Dec. 1, 2022). The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion...more

2/21/2023 / Preliminary Injunctions , Public Schools , School Districts , Sex Discrimination , Student Athletes , Students , Title IX , Title IX Coordinator

Pennsylvania School Districts Required to Adopt Resolutions by January 7, 2023, Pursuant to Act 57 of 2022

Act 57 of 2022 amends the Pennsylvania Local Tax Collection Law and requires School District Tax Collectors to waive additional charges for taxpayers who did not receive notice of real estate taxes when a property or mobile...more

12/8/2022 / Good Faith , Mobile Homes , Notice Requirements , Property Owners , Property Tax , Property Transaction Taxes , Real Estate Transfers , School Districts

School District’s Discipline for Off-Campus Social Media Post Violated Student’s First Amendment Free Speech Rights

In re Appeal of G.S., 269 A.3d 718, 722 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2022), appeal denied, 61 MAL 2022, 2022 WL 2447538 (Pa. July 6, 2022) (The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined that the expulsion of a student for a social media...more

10/21/2022 / Expulsion , First Amendment , Free Speech , Public Schools , School Districts , Social Networks , State Constitutions , Student Speech , Students

Filling Vacancies With Internal Candidates Without Application Process Leads to Discrimination Claim

S.G. v. Norristown Area S.D., No. 20-1682, 2021WL 6063122 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 22, 2021) (Federal court allowed a discrimination claim of part-time teacher to proceed arising from a school district’s practice of hiring internal...more

7/6/2022 / Adverse Employment Action , Age Discrimination , Disparate Impact , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Discrimination , Genuine Issue of Material Fact , Hiring & Firing , Job Ads , Performance Reviews , Race Discrimination , School Districts , Title VII

Ban of Disruptive Parent from School Events not an Unconstitutional Speech Infringement

McNett v. Jefferson-Morgan Sch. Dist., 2:21-CV-01064-RJC, 2021 WL 5505849, at *1 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 23, 2021) (A parent’s challenge to being banned from school events for disruptive behavior found not to have violated his...more

3/3/2022 / First Amendment , Free Speech , Public Schools , School Districts , School Policies

Ashley Puchalski Thomas

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Popular Topics by This Author

Latest Posts › School Districts