Archive for December, 2019
Governor to Sign Bill to Ban Hair Discrimination
New Jersey bill entitled Create a Respectful and Open Workspace for Natural Hair Act (“CROWN Act”) was passed by the Senate on December 16, 2019 and approved by the Assembly on December 19, 2019. The CROWN Act would prohibit discrimination on the basis of hairstyle, type, or texture, which are traits historically associated with race. This bill, which further addresses discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), will head to the Governor for signature. The NJLAD, which applies to schools and work places, would be amended to specifically define “race” to include “traits historically associated with race, including, […]
Third Circuit Clarifies Law on Independent Evaluation Requests & Need for Disagreement with District Eval
Occasionally, school district child study teams (“CSTs”) are faced with special education parents who are resistant to allowing the CST to evaluate their child, yet demand independent evaluations from an outside evaluator at the school district’s expense. In such circumstances, districts were often faced with a dilemma – either acquiesce to such demands, or file for due process themselves and incur legal fees to resist such requests, or deny the parent’s request without filing for due process and risk an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) finding that the district committed a procedural violation. This is because previous decisions of the Office […]
Commissioner of Education Upholds Finding of HIB for Comments Related to Physical Strength
In a case successfully defended by Sanu Dev, Esq., the Hainesport Township Board of Education’s (“Board”) determination of harassment, intimidation, and bullying (“HIB”) was upheld by the New Jersey Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) on June 19, 2019. In the case captioned M.S. and N.S. o/b/o J.S. v. Hainesport Township Board of Education, the parents of J.S. appealed the Board’s decision finding that J.S. violated the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (“ABBRA”) and committed an act of HIB when J.S. slammed another student’s Chromebook, pulled on his earbuds, called him “weakling,” and commented on the student’s athletic ability, using the phrase, […]
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