School Foundations – Don’t Operate in the Dark
More and more school districts are establishing Foundations which are used to solicit and accept donations to assist in paying for school district programs and projects. However, school districts must…
Legal Insights
What Happens When Divorced, Separated, or Never Married Parents Disagree?
Alfred Maiello
Procedural safeguards under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) provide parents a meaningful opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Parental consent and participation is required for evaluation,…
What You Tweet Could be Held Against You
Alfred Maiello
Teacher use of social networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter, can be a minefield for teachers and other district employees. When a disgruntled school district employee takes to Twitter to…
Affordable Care Act – Delayed but Not Forgotten
Alfred Maiello
School districts around the state have breathed a little easier since the Obama Administration announced in July that it would delay to 2015 the new health care law’s mandate that…
Before You Hit “Send:” Avoiding Inadvertent Contract Formation by E-mail
Alfred Maiello
In the past twenty years, the Internet and cell phones have revolutionized the way the world communicates and transacts business. In order to “enhance and promote the reliability of electronic…
Retired or Unemployed? – Reduction in Work Force Makes a Difference
Alfred Maiello
On December 28, 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision which may impact whether your school district decides to offer an early retirement incentive (ERI) as part of planned…
Superintendent Contracts – No Longer an Option
Alfred Maiello
One of the many changes made to the School Code by the Pennsylvania Legislature at the close of the 2011-2012 session was an overhaul of Section 1072, which governs the…
Evidence – When does the Duty to Preserve Arise?
Alfred Maiello
In the Fall 2011 edition of Education News, we addressed situations where a school district could be exposed to electronically stored information (ESI) spoliation sanctions and provided steps to include…
SEXTING – MAKING THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME
Alfred Maiello
On October 25, 2012,Pennsylvania joined a growing number of states in enacting Act 198 of 2012 that tailors the punishment for youth involved in “sexting” rather than relying on existing…
THIRD CIRCUIT FIRST TO EXAMINE SCOPE OF TWO-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN SECTION 504 CLAIMS
Alfred Maiello
In an October 11, 2012 decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that claims for compensatory education under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are limited by the two-year…
STUDENT DRUG TESTING: CAN YOUR DISTRICT DO IT?
Alfred Maiello
In the Summer 2012 edition of Education News, we discussed anAllegheny County school district’s board policy which provided for the exclusion from school activities of any student who was charged…
ACT 82 CLARIFICATION ON BACKGROUND CHECKS
Alfred Maiello
Recently Governor Corbett signed into law House Bill 1901, now known as Act 82 of 2012, which made various changes to the Public School Code of 1949. One of those…
SPOTLIGHT ON SPECIAL EDUCATION: “STAY PUT” PLACEMENT DURING THE APPEALS PROCESS
Alfred Maiello
One of the fundamental tenets of special education law is that during a pending dispute between a school district and a family regarding a special education student’s proper placement, the…
AUDITOR GENERAL WEIGHS IN ON SCHOOL BOARD’S SPENDING ON CATERED MEALS
Alfred Maiello
On December 27, 2011, Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner released a final report concerning an investigation undertaken by the Department’s Office of Special Investigations into the spending practices of the…
SUPREME COURT HOLDS STUDENTS MAY BE ENTITLED TO MIRANDA WARNINGS
Alfred Maiello
In its recent decision in J.D.B. v. North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed students’ rights to traditional Miranda warnings when questioned by police officers in the school setting. The…