PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Gavels & Gowns - What’s Next in VA K-12 Education? An Interview with Scott Brabrand, Executive Director of VASS
Podcast: A Conversation with Andy Rotherham on Hot Topics in Education for 2023
The Transformation of Education in Florida
School District Update Podcast: Hiring H-1B Teachers in 2021-2022
COVID-19: New York Travel Guidance, Related Disability FAQs, Reopening/Operating Procedures, School District Update
They Said What? First Amendment Issues in 2020
COVID School Landscape
Education Data Privacy and Security Laws: Best Practices for School Districts
Leadership in the Time of COVID
Nota Bene Episode 90: U.S. Q3 Check In: Stimulus, Relief, Election, and Direction with Elizabeth Frazee and Jonathan Meyer
Top 10 Actions (or Inactions), that Spur Special Education Impartial Hearing Requests for School Districts
In Blair v. Appomattox County School Board, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reiterated how educators are judged under Title IX when responding to peer-on-peer sexual harassment allegations. The Court said it is not...more
On July 29, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a sweeping memorandum warning recipients of federal funds — including K-12 schools and higher education institutions — that many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more
Fiscal differences remain as Illinois lawmaker urges for transit special session - “State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, made the call Monday during a ceremony to mark the reopening of four Chicago Transit Authority train...more
The Supreme Court will soon decide whether states can ban transgender high school and college athletes from participating on female sports teams at their schools. After initially declining to review this issue in 2023 and...more
Federal officials on Monday launched a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative aimed at schools receiving federal funding, the next step in the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement posture against transgender rights, DEI,...more
Another school year is winding down, and educational leaders perhaps have never been more ready for summer break. From the Trump administration’s significant policy shifts to deeply consequential litigation playing out to...more
A New Initiative to Support Transition from Early Intervention to Kindergarten - The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) jointly launched a new initiative known...more
President Trump just issued a wave of education-related executive orders – seven, to be exact – impacting both higher education and K-12 schools. Educational institutions need to tune in and catch up, and we’ve compiled this...more
On April 21, 2025, New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) Commissioner Kevin Dehmer testified before the Assembly Budget Committee to present the Department’s FY 2026 budget proposal. The proposal outlines a $22.2 billion...more
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) sent a letter to state education agencies (SEAs) requiring them to certify compliance with federal civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of...more
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has declined to sign a certification form issued by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which asked all state education agencies to affirm compliance with federal...more
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) took another step forward last week to ensure that K-12 school districts across the country are complying with the administration’s directives on civil rights and antidiscrimination...more
K-12 school districts across the country now face a tight deadline to navigate a minefield with significant legal and funding implications. ...more
Generally, independent schools intentionally refrain from participating in the majority of federal funding programs, preserving their ability to ensure the educational program is provided in a manner that is reflective of...more
On April 3, 2025, the United States Department of Education (DOE) announced its intention to require state education agencies (SEAs) and school districts to certify that they are in compliance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil...more
Extra Funding for Hundreds of PA School Districts in Question- Top Republican lawmakers are skeptical about Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposal to allocate an additional $494 million to underfunded Pennsylvania school...more
Many K-12 and institutes of higher education are concerned about the potential threat to their federal funding given recent changes to the way the government is interpreting existing federal law to achieve certain policy...more
Esperanza Academy Charter School v. The School District of Philadelphia, 2024 WL 4875053 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2024). (Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court held that school districts’ deductions of federal grant expenditures from charter...more
Starting today, the U.S. Department of Education will crack down on “overt and covert racial discrimination” in educational institutions receiving federal funding, according to a February 14 “Dear Colleague” letter issued by...more
On February 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Heath, holding that a whistleblower can bring a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against a telecommunications carrier over...more
Last year was a turbulent one for Title IX, and although we are just a few days into 2025, this turbulence has persisted into the new year. Yesterday, January 9, 2025, a federal district court in Kentucky issued a ruling that...more
In recent years, many school districts have benefitted from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grants. These grants have assisted school districts and other academic institutions in responding to the...more
Michael Reed V. Mount Carmel Area School District, Et Al., Case No. 4:23-Cv-00890 (M.d. Pa., October 3, 2023) U.S. District Court dismissed claims against School District for emotional distress under Title IX and for...more
Public school districts across the country face an October 1 deadline to certify they do not prevent constitutionally protected prayer — or else they could lose federal funding. The certification is an annual exercise,...more
As Michigan public schools navigate the preparation of their 2023-2024 budgets, we wanted to again provide you with a reminder of the short-term borrowing options available to cover projected operating cash-flow shortfalls....more