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
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a new binding opinion concerning the Open Meetings Act (OMA). In the opinion, the PAC determined that three city council members did not violate the OMA when they exchanged...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
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion concerning the Open Meetings Act (OMA). In the decision, the PAC found that the public body violated the OMA by holding an improper meeting when it hosted a...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
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 employment laws became effective January 1, 2023, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new Labor & Employment Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2023. The new...more
1/10/2023
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Illinois ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Minimum Wage ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
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
Recently, the Seventh Circuit—the circuit court governing Illinois—upheld a lower court’s judgment in favor of a school district defending against two reverse race discrimination claims brought by a longtime District...more
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued two new binding opinions concerning the FOIA—one upholding a public body’s denial of a FOIA request for union records and another finding application materials for...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
On June 29, 2022, Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 12-1101 (House Bill 4813) into law, amending Section 10-20.21 of the Illinois School Code, which generally requires contracts that are subject to the bidding process to be...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued a new decision regarding the FOIA. In Kraft v. Chicago Police Department, the Court ruled in favor of the police department, finding it properly exempted records as unduly...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 PAC recently released its second binding opinion of 2022, which provides helpful analysis and guidance regarding the personal and pre-decisional exemptions under the FOIA. The PAC determined that the City of Chicago...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
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed that Title IX provides adequate notice to federal funding recipients of their responsibility to respond to known sexual harassment if they have control over...more
2/22/2022
/ Appeals ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Third-Party ,
Title IX