Students
NJDOE Issues Guidance Regarding Transgender Students
You may recall that in May 2016, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice issued a Dear Colleague Letter addressing the rights of transgender students and then rescinded it less than a year later in February 2017. The New Jersey Department of Education (“NJDOE”) took matters into its own hands and issued a guidance document to school districts regarding transgender students on September 27, 2018. The purpose of the guidance document is to assist in creating an inclusive environment for transgender and gender nonconforming students and to ensure that these students receive equal educational opportunities. The NJDOE advises that a school district […]
How Has the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act Affected the Litigation Environment?
By: Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. It is almost hard to believe we are now in the seventh school year since the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (“ABBRA”) took effect. At the time of the statute’s passage on January 5, 2011, many speculated that the wave of investigations into harassment, intimidation, and bullying (“HIB”) that were soon to be conducted in high numbers in the early years of the statute’s implementation would also be accompanied by a large and continuous wave of HIB litigation. Some even opined that the law would spawn a new […]
Appellate Division Finds Parent Liable for Tuition Payment to School District for Lack of Domicile
On December 27, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the Commissioner of Education’s determination in T.L. o/b/o A.B. v. Union Township Board of Education that a parent and her child were not domiciled within the Union Township School District for two school years and therefore her child was not entitled to a free public education in that district. As a result, the parent was ordered to reimburse the Union Township Board of Education (“Board”) for the cost of the child’s education for that time period. The case involved parent T.L. and her child A.B. For the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 […]
NJSIAA Revises Transgender Policy
On November 15, 2017, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (“NJSIAA”) announced changes to its policy affecting transgender student athletes. Under the new policy, the NJSIAA simply defines a transgender student as a student whose gender identity differs from the student’s sex assigned at birth. The new policy allows transgender students to participate in sports in accordance with either their birth sex or their gender identity, but not both. The old policy required documented proof of a change in gender identity, such as a physician’s certification. In contrast, the revised policy does not require medical consultation. A school may […]
Court Finds Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Was Required in Service Animal Case
By: Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq. Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. A District Court in New Hampshire recently ruled that the parents of an 8-year-old boy who uses a service animal could not bring forth claims under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) against a school district because the parents failed to first exhaust their administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (“IDEA”). In A.R. v. Sch. Admin. Unit #23, No. 15-CV-152-SM, 2017 WL 4621587 (D.N.H. Oct. 12, 2017), the student in question suffered from a […]
Upcoming Seminar at NJSBA Annual Conference
On Thursday, October 26, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. will be presenting at the New Jersey School Boards Association’s Annual Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They will be speaking about legal issues pertaining to student residency and homelessness. For additional information and registration, please click here.
Appellate Division Approves Dual Send-Receive Relationship
In an unpublished decision issued on May 4, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the final agency decision of the Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) approving the send-receive relationship between the Seaside Park Board of Education (“Seaside Park”) and the Lavallette Board of Education (“Lavallette”). The decision captioned In the Matter of the Petition for Authorization to Enter into a Sending-Receiving Relationship with the Board of Education of the Borough of Lavallette, Ocean County allows Seaside Park to send its students to Lavallette while maintaining its existing send-receive agreement with the Toms River Regional Schools Board of Education (“Toms River”). […]
Upcoming Seminar at NJSBA Spring School Law Forum
On Wednesday, June 14, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq. will be presenting at the New Jersey School Boards Association’s Spring School Law Forum. They will be speaking about uncommon accommodations and service animals for students in school. The seminar will be held in Monroe, New Jersey. For additional information and registration, please click here.
Upcoming Seminar at NJASA/NJAPSA Spring Leadership Annual Conference
On Wednesday, May 18, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. will be presenting at the the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and Association of Pupil Services Administrators’ 35th Annual Spring Leadership Conference. They will be speaking about legal issues pertaining to student residency and homelessness. The seminar will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. For additional information and registration, please click here.
Upcoming Seminar: “Student Records: Legal Requirements You Need to Know”
On May 2 and May 5, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. will be presenting at the National Business Institute’s seminar entitled “Student Records: Legal Requirements You Need to Know.” They will be speaking about student surveys and physical security of student records. The seminar will be held in Princeton and Atlantic City. For additional information and registration, please click here.
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