EdLawConnect Blog

On September 21, 2015, Governor Brown approved legislation expanding, for the first time in over 20 years, the rights of student members of school district governing boards. Beginning January 1, 2016, Senate Bill 532 will set a 60-day time limit for a board to respond to a petition from students to add a student trustee, and will require a formal process in the event a governing board wishes to remove the student ...

On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association - a case that challenges California’s “agency fee” laws.  While this case will not be heard and decided until next year, public sector unions in California are already mobilizing a response to this potential threat to their financial coffers.

“Agency fees” or as unions prefer to call ...

As one means of managing the cost of a data security breach (when confidential electronically stored information is disclosed), public and private organizations may purchase “cyber insurance” policies. The purchaser seeks to limit the substantial costs involved in investigating and remedying a breach. However, such policies (which are relatively new to the marketplace) have considerable ...

On July 16, 2015, Governor Brown approved an amendment to Government Code section 12940 prohibiting an employer or other covered entity from retaliating, or otherwise discriminating, against a person for requesting accommodation of his or her disability or religious beliefs, regardless of whether the accommodation request was granted.

The legislation stems from the Court of Appeal’s decision in Rope ...

In August 2015, the governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1101, which as of January 1, 2016 will prohibit school districts from undertaking investigations regarding a student’s residency unless the governing board has adopted a policy establishing protocols and limitations on that investigation process. AB 1101 adds section 48204.2 to the Education Code and requires the policy to: identify ...

On August 7, 2015, California’s Labor Commissioner issued an Opinion Letter confirming earlier guidance that employees who regularly work 10-hour shifts must be given up to 30 hours of paid sick leave under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.

California’s landmark sick leave law requires employers allow their employees to use “24 hours or three days” of sick leave each year.  ...

On September 2, 2015, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 215, which imposes new requirements on school superintendents’ employment contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2016.

Current law requires all employment contracts between an employee and a local agency employer (such as a school district) to include a limitation on the amount of a cash settlement if the contract is terminated ...

As discussed in our May 29, 2015 entry, “Website Accessibility Under the ADA,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in the absence of regulations, recognized certain industry principles as guiding public accommodations when making websites accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Relying on such guidelines, businesses and public agencies reasonably believed providing ...

During the 2015-2016 school year, many school districts will be studying changes to their teacher evaluation instruments and proposing changes to teacher evaluation procedures at the bargaining table.  High profile litigation filed recently in Contra Costa County, alleging unlawful collective bargaining agreement language in thirteen districts across the state, has highlighted the issue during the ...

One of the most difficult areas of Title IX compliance is coordinating Title IX investigations with local law enforcement agencies.  If coordination is handled correctly, local law enforcement can provide vital assistance to colleges in their efforts to comply with Title IX, and the Clery Act by sharing information and resources.  However, violations of Title IX often occur when colleges allow police ...