On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Letter of Impending Enforcement Action (“Letter”) against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (“CIAC”) and several Connecticut public school districts.  At issue was the CIAC’s policy permitting biologically‑male transgender student‑athletes to participate in athletic competitions with biologically‑female student‑athletes.  The subject […]

  No one questions the critical importance of education; certainly not us.  Every constitution of every state in the United States identifies education as a constitutional right.  The Michigan constitution provides, “Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” […]

  In late April, we wrote about the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Gary B, et al., v. Whitmer, et al. (Case No. 18‑1855/1871, April 23, 2020), in which the court held that students have a fundamental right to a basic minimum education – meaning one that provided access to literacy. In the following weeks, Governor Whitmer faced […]

  Earlier this month, LA reported that Idaho was the first state to ban transgender women from participating in women’s athletics.   The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, signed by Governor Brad Little, legalized the practice of requiring women to partake in physical, genetic, and hormone testing in order to compete, should their gender be questioned. […]

Last night, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-65, which supersedes Executive Order 2020‑35 and provides further guidance relative to the provision of K‑12 education for the remainder of the 2019‑2020 school year.  While the EO is significantly similar to EO 2020‑35, it contains new language on the following topics:  safety drills and compulsory attendance, early […]

  In a recent unpublished case, Janetsky v County of Saginaw, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that a former prosecutor’s case against her past employer and superiors could not proceed.  Janetsky had been assigned to charge sex crimes.  While Janetsky was away on her honeymoon, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Boyd reached a plea deal with […]

  In more than one occasion, the United States Supreme Court has declined to recognize a constitutional right to education.  So has the Sixth Circuit.  Nevertheless, in Gary B, et al., v Whitmer, et al. (Case No. 18-1855/1871, April 23, 2020), the Sixth Circuit reversed field in a split decision. Plaintiffs in Gary B were […]

    The Sixth Circuit recently issued its opinion in Schulkers v. Kammer, involving the question of how the Fourth Amendment impacts social worker interactions with students during school.  Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants, Elizabeth Kammer (Kammer), Alison Campbell (Campbell) and Kara violated their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when, among other activities, they conducted in-school […]

  On April 8, 2020, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020‑41, which relaxes notarization requirements in Michigan until midnight on May 6, 2020.  Similar to the loosening of other laws under prior EOs, EO 2020‑41 suspends strict compliance with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA), and the […]

  On April 1, 2020, Idaho became the first state to deny transgender girls from participating in girls’ athletics. The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was signed by Governor Brad Little, who also signed a bill that prohibits transgender people from being able to change their birth certificates to match their gender identities.  Further, it […]