Category: Education Law

 By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 If a student has faced discrimination in their school or college, they or their parent may want to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to get their school investigated and corrected.  Simple. Not so fast.   Its…

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Recently, the Scottish Government issued a consultation on national school uniform guidance that they are planning to issue. The main stated aims of the new guidance will be to reduce the costs for families, and to comply with equalities obligations. The guidance is to apply to all schools in Scotland, whether local authority schools, independent…

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As an Education Advocate across the country, I see everything when it comes to the IEP process and special education.  No matter where you live, there are a number of challenges which seem to be inherent to the public school system.  And the one phrase that seems to continue serve as a bone of contention…

Read More ““Least Restrictive”: Protecting Our Children From Who?” »

By: Gabi Aste-Molina, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College that race cannot be a factor in college admissions because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Students for Fair Admissions…

Read More “U.S. Supreme Court Rules Affirmative Action in College Admissions is Unconstitutional” »

From Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity or expression (masculine, feminine, other) is different from their sex (male, female) at birth.  Gender identity refers to one’s internal understanding of one’s own gender, or the gender with which a person identifies. Gender expression is a term used to describe people’s outward presentation of…

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In 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released a Fact Sheet on Ensuring Meaningful Participation in Advanced Coursework and Specialized Programs for Students Who Are English Learners (“Fact Sheet”), which is available here. The Fact Sheet provides data showing OCR found that students who are English Learners (“ELs”) have lower…

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By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Most parents see schools as places where their kids go daily, while they are at work or taking care of other household needs, and forget about them.  College students may view their universities as a large mass of buildings and detached college staff and instructors. …

Read More “Twelve Tips To Winning School and College Disputes” »

The Education, Children and Young People Committee is the lead committee for the Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill, a private member’s Bill, introduced by Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP. The period for interested parties to submit their views on the Bill to the Committee has recently ended. Here is a summary of…

Read More “Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill – The Additional Support Needs Blog” »

  Between August and late June, there isn’t a day when I don’t hear from parents related to IEP Plans, 504 Plans, or general education programming.  It’s a major part of my life.  And in these discussions, I usually touch upon a few guiding questions to set up the conversation moving forward:  EVALUATIONS WHAT WORKS…

Read More “Education Advocacy Tool Kit: Three Essentials” »

By: Ruhani K. Aulakh, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 20, 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Gannett Satellite Info. Network, LLC v. Township. of Neptune declined to adopt an exception to the American Rule for attorneys’ fees under common law right of access claims to public records, which requires each…

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