EdLawConnect Blog

We are often asked by clients how to respond when an employee at work is suspected to be under the influence of an intoxicant or controlled substance. The protections that most public employees enjoy from drug and alcohol testing principally derive from the prohibitions against: (1) "unreasonable searches and seizures" and (2) "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Your response is partly determined ...

Over the years two questions have come up frequently regarding prior written notices to parents/legal guardians:

1.  When is a LEA required to provide prior written notice (“PWN”)?

2.  What constitutes a legally sufficient PWN?

Fortunately for LEAs, the IDEA and case law address both of these questions with some detail.

When Notice is Required

Under the IDEA a parent must be provided with prior written

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) is a Congressional directive to schools receiving any federal funding to eliminate discrimination based on disability from all aspects of school operations. For a student to qualify for Section 504 protection the student must meet three criteria, which are (1) A mental or physical impairment (or ...

PLEASANTON, Calif. —Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo (AALRR) is pleased to welcome partner Elizabeth J. Rho-Ng to its Pleasanton office, where she will work in the firm’s Education Practice.

As many school districts, county offices of education and charter schools (“LEAs”) continue to face extreme financial hardships the proposition of having attorney’s fees awarded to an LEA for legal expenses associated with defending a due process hearing has becomes more alluring. While the IDEA allows LEAs to recover attorney’s fees, the circumstances under which the fees for an LEA can be ...

A California university recently notified students that a 2.75% processing fee would be imposed upon students paying tuition and boarding costs with a credit card. The Director of Student financial services told the LA Times that by shifting the card companies’ cost of processing from the university to the students, the university will save approximately $6.5 million.

Is this processing fee legal? Can my ...

The Legislature has recently provided community college districts with a new way to maximize resources when new legislation becomes effective in January, 2013. (Assembly Bill 1748, Chapter 78).

Education Code section 81378.1 currently provides a relatively simple process for community colleges to enter into leases of certain district property when the leases have terms between five days and five years ...

Complaints alleging violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) will be handled differently by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) beginning January 1, 2013.

With studies showing that concussion injuries put athletes at immediate risk for traumatic brain injuries and increased long-term cumulative risks for early onset dementia, clinical depression, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, school districts are looking to protect their student-athletes from physical harm and themselves from exposure to legal liability for that harm.  Recent ...

On August 31, 2012, AALRR attorneys Irma Rodriguez Moisa and Sharon J. Ormond obtained a unanimous jury defense verdict in favor of The Regents of the University of California after a 14-day jury trial.  The Plaintiff, James Friedman, was laid off from his position at the University of California at Los Angeles in April 2010 after a reorganization of his unit resulted in his position being eliminated.  He filed suit in September 2010 against the Regents, alleging: age and religious creed discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA); retaliation for protesting or opposing of age and gender discrimination in his department in violation of the FEHA; failure to take steps to prevent retaliation from occurring in violation of the FEHA; whistleblower retaliation under California Labor Code section 1102.5 for reporting alleged copyright violations; and wrongful termination in violation of public policy.  He further sued two management employees of the University, alleging defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  (James Friedman v. The Regents of the University of California, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC445059.)