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
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor has raised new considerations for districts faced with requests from parents to excuse students from instruction they believe is at odds with their religious beliefs. ...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a school division’s use of LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks without allowing parental opt-outs unconstitutionally burdened religious freedom. This decision raises significant questions...more
On June 27, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, 606 U.S. ___ (2025), holding that the Montgomery County Board of Education’s introduction of LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks into its...more
On the final day of its term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools must accommodate parents’ religious objections to certain instructional materials — in this case, LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks used in elementary...more
Can a public school require students to engage with materials that conflict with their parents’ religious beliefs without offering an opt-out? In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court enjoined the Montgomery County public...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday, June 27, that a Maryland school district’s decision to mandate instruction using LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks, without offering notice or opt-outs to parents, violated the First...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which governs federal districts in the West/Northwest, recently held that a California school board member violated the First Amendment when blocking users’ ability to access...more
Recently, the Ninth Circuit had the opportunity to apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s test laid out in Lindke v. Freed (March 2024) to determine whether a public official’s use of social media is state action subject to First...more
Detschelt v. Norwin School District 23-cv-1402 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 20, 2024). The District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismisses complaint filed by school director which alleged that statement issued by the...more
State legislators have introduced bills in the South Carolina House of Representatives and South Carolina Senate to amend Title 1, Chapter 1 of the South Carolina Code by adding sections addressing diversity, equity, and...more
Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal (“Fifth DCA”) recently determined the Duval County School Board erred when it disciplined a teacher for politically-charged social media posts made in the run-up to the 2020...more
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
Social media has made it much easier to disseminate hurtful criticisms about teachers, principals, superintendents and even board of education members, and the good people of Nutmeg are no exception....more
Ohio Senate Bill 206, (SB 206) introduced in 2024, calls for students who post threatening content on social media to be punished with expulsion from school for up to 180 days. The bill defines the proposed prohibited conduct...more
On Jan. 9, 2025, the Eastern District of Kentucky held in State of Tennessee, et al. v. Miguel Cardona, et al. that the U.S. Department of Education’s 2024 Final Rule implementing Title IX is “unlawful.” This court decision...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
Pennsylvania’s Educator Discipline Act governs educator misconduct complaints filed with the Department of Education for investigation and, if warranted, discipline. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2070.9. Once a misconduct complaint is...more
While district-controlled Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/“X” accounts can certainly be a great tool for engaging stakeholders – particularly Gen X and Millennial parents – it is important for board members and administrators...more
The decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Saucon Valley School District, ___ F.Supp.3d ___, 2023 WL 3182934, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75001 (May 1, 2023) is a...more
Yes, we are still talking about this. Despite facing what feels like a rising tide of political discourse in our communities for years, we continue to hear concerns about how schools can balance fostering academic freedom,...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
Districts should be aware of a growing trend of “First Amendment Audits” occurring in district offices and schools. During an “audit,” an individual (or group) enters a school district lobby, begins filming and then posts...more
In May 2023, the Department of Education issued guidance on the current state of the law regarding constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public schools. Last updated in 2020, the guidance incorporates...more
Win in Court doesn’t Assure More Pennsylvania School Funding - “Pennsylvania is the latest state where the public school funding system was found to be unconstitutional, but the experience in other states suggests there’s...more
A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision held that school officials did not violate students’ First Amendment rights when disciplining them for off-campus social media posts that amounted to severe harassment...more