EdLawConnect Blog

In a decision of first impression, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that a public school employee is not immune from a lawsuit for disclosing a Suspected Child Abuse Report (“SCAR”) to anyone other than those specifically listed in the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Penal Code §§ 11164, et seq.; “CANRA”). Additionally, public school employers may be liable for an employee’s negligent disclosure of a SCAR.

Public Contract Code section 20111.6, which goes into effect on January 1, 2014, requires school districts to prequalify bidders for certain construction projects. Specifically, any school district with an average daily attendance of 2,500 or more must prequalify bidders for: 1) any project using funds from the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 or 2) projects using funds from any future state ...

Effective January 1, 2015, California minors can take advantage of SB 568’s “Eraser Law” when they desire to remove a post from a website, online service or application, or mobile application with which they are registered. While the new law was intended to provide minors with a way to remove posts made during youthful lapses in good judgment, schools cannot ignore online student misconduct falling ...

On October 10, 2013, the Governor signed AB 256 amending California’s pupil discipline law, Education Code section 48900, which identifies grounds for suspension and expulsion, including bullying. Although most agree that bullying among students is undesirable, some are concerned that California’s latest anti-bullying legislation, AB 256, has gone too far and may encourage schools to violate ...

On October 2, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 652 into to law which clarifies the reporting requirements under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.  Specifically the bill states, “the fact that a child is homeless or is classified as an unaccompanied minor…is not, in and of itself, a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse or neglect.”

AB 652 applies the federal definitions of ...

Once again, the California Legislature is considering making changes to the current teacher evaluation process set forth in the Stull Act (Education Code Section 44660 et seq.). One item of particular interest that is common to several of the pending legislative proposals is the use of pupil progress data as a significant part of the evaluation of teacher performance.

Senate Bill 453 (Huff) proposes, among ...

Pursuant to the recent passage of Assembly Bill 86 (“AB 86”), as of July 1, 2013, Education Code section 17463.7 has been extended and will remain in effect until January 1, 2016.  Education Code section 17463.7 was added in 2009 and provides school districts with some additional flexibility regarding the use of funds derived from the sale of surplus real property.  AB 86’s passage merely extends the ...

On August 12, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1266 into law. AB 1266 provides transgender students have a legal right to access sex-segregated facilities and activities consistent with their gender identity. The bill amends California Education Code section 221.5 to include, at subdivision (f):

A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities ...

Recently the Third District Court of Appeal decided Crews v. Willows Unified School District, concerning a newspaperman’s appeal from an award of sanctions against him in the form of the school district’s attorneys’ fees for his filing a frivolous California Public Records Act lawsuit against the District.  Although the decision of the Court of Appeal reversed an award of sanctions against the ...

The California Department of Education and the California Energy Commission today issued a press release informing all Local Educational Agencies (“LEAs”) with Average Daily Attendance (“ADA”) of less than 1,000 that they have until August 1, 2013 to apply for Proposition 39 funding comprising a combined funding allocation for the current and following year to be received in a lump sum allocation in the current year.  This notice comes ahead of completion of the regulatory drafting, public input and adoption process required under the California Administrative Procedures Act.  Nonetheless, small LEAs should go through the online application process and then start planning to use those funds, while anticipating what the rules are going to look like.