Last month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a Title IX action initiated by several individuals who claimed they were abused by a physician at the Ohio State University between 1978 and 1998.  Although the University claimed that the claims fell well beyond the statute of limitations, the Plaintiffs countered that […]

Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit published its decision in Ison v. Madison Local School District Board of Education, addressing the censorship of offensive or critical speech at a public meeting involving a public body or its members.  The court opined that prohibiting speech simply because it may […]

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit released its decision in Perez v. Sturgis Pub. Schools, No. 20-1076, a case involving a student’s claim for relief under both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The case solidifies the importance of the requirement […]

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently released its opinion in Sebald v Belding Area Schools, a case involving the layoff and recall of Sebald, a tenured teacher.  Sebald first became hired by the School District in 1999 and taught multiple subjects during his employment.  But, during the 2016‑2017 school year, Sebald received a rating of […]

For decades, school administrators have worked under the Tinker standard – i.e., the principle that on‑campus student free speech can only be disciplined where it causes a substantial disruption to the school environment.  Since then, the Supreme Court has weighed in on only a few student speech cases and, until today, those cases did not generally directly […]

On May 18, 2021 the Supreme Court of New Jersey agreed to hear a Catholic school teacher’s gender bias suit.  The case, Crisitello v. St. Theresa School, has circulated multiple times amongst the lower courts, and now the Supreme Court of New Jersey will determine whether Petitioner, Crisitello, was terminated in violation of the New […]

Last week, the Michigan Court of Appeals published its decision in Traverse City Record-Eagle v Traverse City Area Public Schools Board of Education, a case involving a significant loophole in the way the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA) interact. Shortly after the hiring of Traverse City Area Public Schools […]

In a recent case, Meriwether v. Hartop, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit addressed the important issue of pronoun policies in educational settings.  Meriwether, a professor at Shawnee State University, objected to a university policy requiring employees to refer to students by their preferred pronouns.  Meriwether sought an accommodation for his sincerely held […]

In a recent unpublished case, Storck v. Washtenaw Indep. Sch. Dist., the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a case involving a wheelchair‑bound student, Ivan Williams, Jr., who suffered an injury while at school.  While being unloaded from the bus after a school trip, the assistant working with Williams placed the wheelchair toward an […]

On December 28, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 3‑3 in Council of Organizations & Others for Ed. About Parochiaid v State, Docket No. 158751, leaving in place the decision of the Court of Appeals to permit certain funds to be disbursed to Michigan’s nonpublic schools.  Under MCL 388.1752b, funds were reimbursed to nonpublic schools […]