Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. The case involved a high school football coach who lost his job after he knelt at midfield after games to pray. The coach sued the district for the disciplinary actions it took against him, alleging that the district’s actions violated his rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution…
Posted by Jennifer A. Hardin on 5/2/2022
Last Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which asks whether it is constitutional for school employees to pray on school grounds, at a school event, with students and other members of the school community present.
The landmark case on school prayer, Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), concluded that the First Amendment…
Posted by Van D. Keating on 6/25/2021
On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that school employees may not carry firearms unless they have peace officer training or 20 years of experience as a peace officer (Gabbard v. Madison Local School Dist. School Bd. of Edn., Slip…
Posted by Van D. Keating on 6/15/2020
Posted by Van D. Keating on 6/27/2018
In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled today that the State of Illinois’ extraction of agency fees from non-consenting public-sector employees violates the First Amendment.
The decision, in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, …
Posted by Megan E. Greulich on 2/28/2018
On Monday, Feb. 26, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Janus v. AFCSME, Council 31 regarding the constitutionality of requiring nonmember bargaining unit…
Posted by Megan E. Greulich on 12/14/2017
On Dec. 7, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released a Q&A document clarifying the scope of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) following the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) March 2017 decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District.
The SCOTUSblog provides resources…
Posted by Jennifer Hardin on 3/22/2017
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court answered a question that it had deferred 35 years ago in its seminal opinion on education for children with disabilities—Board of Edn. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist. v. Rowley.
In Rowley, the court concluded that the guarantee of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in what is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is met if a child’s individualized education program (IEP) sets out a program that is “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” However…
Posted by Jennifer Hardin on 2/22/2017
Earlier today, a unanimous United States Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools. The Court overturned the lower courts’ decisions and remanded the case to the appeals court to determine whether the plaintiffs’ suit is about a denial of a FAPE rather than discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
The Fry case involved E.F., a student with cerebral palsy, and her assistance dog, Wonder. When E.F. was a kindergartner, her parents, Stacy and Brent Fry, asked…
Posted by Jennifer Hardin on 1/13/2017
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Endrew F v. Douglas County School District. The case involves the legal standard the courts will apply when determining whether a school district has provided FAPE as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA).
The question presented in this case involves IDEA’s provision that federal funds will be provided to states that make FAPE available to every eligible child with…