On August 1, 2024, the Racism-Free Schools Law went into effect. As we previously reported, the Racism-Free Schools Law established several requirements for Illinois school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic,...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is reconsidering its prior decisions that had established a legal right for transgender students to access bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The reconsideration is based on...more
This week, we are catching up on developments from the Department of Labor for determining whether someone is an independent contractor or employee, a nomination to restore a quorum at the EEOC, continued cuts to K-12...more
We took the week off from our Week in Review alert last week as it was a (relatively) slow week. However, as it tends to happen after a slow week, developments picked back up this week....more
It was another big week for the Department of Education, with President Trump signing an Executive Order on Thursday instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take actions to “close” the Department. President Trump’s...more
3/24/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
OCR ,
Student Loans ,
Title VI ,
Trump Administration
As we shared in a previous alert, in early February, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which restricts transgender women and girls from participating in women’s athletic...more
ISBE released a guidance document on residential placements, Guidance on PA 95-0844 and PA 95-0938. The document answers frequently asked questions related to residential placements of general education and special education...more
On May 23, 2024, Senate Bill 3606 (“SB 3606”) passed both houses. If signed into law by Governor Pritzker, SB 3606 will amend the Children with Disabilities Article of the Illinois School Code to provide for expanded state...more
On January 22, 2024, the United States Department of Education (“USDOE”) issued a Dear Colleague Letter regarding supporting students with disabilities who require assistive technology (“AT”) in order to receive meaningful...more
Governor Pritzker recently signed into law Public Act 103-0311 (previously HB 2447), which amends two key provisions in the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) effective as of July 28, 2023....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
In early June, Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 103-0047 into law. This law, which went into effect on June 12, 2023, included several amendments to the Illinois bullying prevention statute, 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7....more
On June 29, 2023, in the highly anticipated cases Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
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
As we announced on our blog last week, Governor Pritzker’s COVID-19 disaster proclamation ended on May 11. This signals the end of optional remote attendance at meetings and a return to pre-COVID era requirements for remote...more
As part of its ongoing efforts to increase inclusivity towards non-native English speakers in the academic setting, the Illinois State Board of Education amended its special education regulations to expand access to...more
As the 2022-2023 school year draws to a close, the deadline to submit Physical Restraint, Time Out and Isolated Time Out (RTO) Plans for the 2023-2024 school year, as well as progress reports for the 2022-2023 school year, is...more
4/10/2023
/ Child Abuse ,
Deadlines ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
ISBE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Restraints ,
Rulemaking Process ,
School Districts ,
Students
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
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
Over the past year and a half, school districts have been inundated with high numbers of due process complaints and mediation requests. Looking back, it appears that as the wave of COVID-19 cases finally began to slow, the...more
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