Last week marked President Trump’s 100th day in office for his second term. As we have reported over the course of the past few months, the first 100 days of the second Trump administration have been active, with many new...more
5/5/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Education ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, President Trump issued several Executive Orders targeting various elements of his policy agenda. Below, we discuss orders that aim to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability under Title...more
It is no secret that whenever there is a change in the Oval Office it is common for the incoming administration to implement quick and widespread changes to effectuate campaign promises. Indeed, in modern times, newly elected...more
1/31/2025
/ Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Gender Identity ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Judge John C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an opinion and order vacating the Final Rule that implemented the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The decision by Judge Reeves has the...more
Happy New Year! Several Illinois laws related to schools became effective January 1, 2025, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new School Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2025. A PDF...more
1/6/2025
/ Disabled Children ,
Educational Institutions ,
Illinois ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safety Standards ,
School Boards ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
State and Local Government ,
Student Athletes ,
Students
We are nearly at the one-month mark with the 2024 Title IX Regulations in effect. Since the August 1 implementation date, school administrators have been busy getting trained, preparing for the school year ahead, and sorting...more
8/30/2024
/ Educational Institutions ,
Grievance Process ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Training Requirements
Schools throughout the country are preparing to implement the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ (“OCR”) long-awaited final 2024 Title IX regulations. These new regulations, which replace the 2020...more
8/2/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Illinois ,
LGBTQ ,
New Regulations ,
OCR ,
School Districts ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Universities
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion, finding a school board violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when it improperly discussed school curriculum during closed session....more
Franczek P.C. is pleased to announce the publication of its Legislative Update for schools. A PDF version of the 2024 School Law Legislative Update is now available...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a new binding opinion concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In the opinion, the PAC concluded that a police department violated the FOIA by withholding records...more
As we previously reported, under new School Code amendments made by Faith’s Law aimed to address sexual abuse prevention and response in schools, school districts, charter and non-public schools are required to implement new...more
The Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) recently issued its Annual Report, which provides an overview of binding PAC opinions and non-binding determination letters issued in 2022, among other topics. We reported on several of the...more
While public school districts have been aware of the fingerprint-based criminal background check requirements for new employees for some time, the hiring process for the 2023-2024 school year is going to look different for...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In the decision, the PAC upholds a school’s decision to utilize the Section 7(1)(f) (predecisional)...more
We previously shared our School Law Legislative Update, focused on new Illinois school-related laws that became effective January 1, 2023. From that update, our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled a narrower list of those laws...more
Happy New Year! Several Illinois laws related to schools became effective January 1, 2023, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new School Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2023. A PDF...more
1/10/2023
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employees ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Health and Safety ,
LGBTQ ,
Mental Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
School Lunch Programs ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Wage and Hour
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued two non-binding opinions concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), both upholding school district decisions to exert exemptions and withhold key documents under the...more
Governor Pritzker recently signed two bills into law, expanding accessibility and flexibility within special education. The first, Public Act 102-0703 (House Bill 4365), allows IEP teams to place students at non-ISBE-approved...more
As we discussed in a previous alert, the Biden administration recently released its proposed Title IX regulations. Today, the administration published the proposed regulations in the Federal Register, beginning the 60-day...more
7/12/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX
This week, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation signed into law on June 23 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. Consisting of a mere 37 words—“No person in the United States shall,...more
Earlier this year, we launched a multi-part series where we provide a refresher on the key players on the Title IX team under the current 2020 regulations. While we wait for the Biden administration to release their proposed...more
School district practices on referrals to local law enforcement for student misconduct in schools are facing intense scrutiny in the wake of the ProPublica investigation reported these past weeks in the Chicago Tribune. ...more
The Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently issued new non-regulatory guidance to assist public K-12 school districts with applying student discipline policies in a...more
Public Act 102-0339 requires each school district’s time out and physical restraint oversight team to develop a plan for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint in...more
In a highly anticipated decision earlier this month, OCR reaffirmed the broad discretion that religious institutions may have under the religious exemption in Title IX. ...more
2/22/2022
/ Dismissals ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
OCR ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Same-Sex Harassment ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX