Written By: Josh Douglass According to the annual report recently released by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), over 50% of all charges filed with the agency in FY 2018 allege unlawful retaliation, continuing the trend of increasing complaints...
Client Alert: Circuit Court Weighs in on New Collective Bargaining Rules
A St. Louis-area court issued an order at the end of last week that may affect how you and your District participate in collective bargaining. Below is an overview of what the Court Order does and doesn't do, along with some guiding information on what your District...
Are You Ready to Roll Out a SPO in Your School? The How to Guide – By: Brittany Newell
Published by MARE, November 2018 In most cases school districts choose to ban weapons on school grounds unless they are carried by law enforcement. However, new law in 2014 opened up another option – namely school protection officers (“SPOs”). A SPO is a teacher or...
Back to School: Planning for a Successful School Year – By: Wendy Boggiano
Published by MoASBO, July 2018 With a new school year right around the corner, now is the time to plan ahead to ensure your district is ready for a smooth and successful school year. Read on below for just a few reminders regarding requirements (some new and some...
Protection Against Sexual Orientation Continues to Broaden – By: Brittany Newell
Published by MARE, March 2018 In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit was the first Circuit to hold that Title VII discrimination prohibition extends to discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. See Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of...
Flood, Fire, and Families: The Enrollment and Education of Displaced Students – By: Betsey Helfrich
Published by MoASBO, March 2018 We all watched with heavy hearts as Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma devastated the states of Texas, Florida, and the Atlantic region. Missouri has also experienced its share of historic flooding and storms over the past few years. ...
Section 504: What’s New and What’s Next – By: Betsey Helfrich
Published by MARE, November 2017 This spring was a busy season for the United States Supreme Court with regard to special education cases. One case decided by the Court in February 2107, Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, (137 S.Ct. 743) may have an impact on the...
When Workers Can’t Work: How to Avoid Liability When Considering Leave under the FMLA & ADA – By: Grant Wiens
Published by MoASBO, November 2017 What can a school district do when an employee can’t work? A wrong answer to this question can cost your district hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most school officials know the basic pieces of the Family and Medical Leave Act...
When Berkeley Comes to Your School District – By: Tom Mickes
Published by MoASBO, September 2017 The events of the last several weeks involving hate speech and a variety of symbols have been memorialized by the media. It would be unrealistic to expect that there will not be a degree of spill over in our public schools. It may...
Six Things to Watch with the New Trump and Greitens Administrations – By: Grant Wiens
Published by MoASBO, March 2017 With new administrations taking over at the state and federal level, and with same-party majorities in the legislative branches at both levels, local school districts can expect changes during the next couple of years. Complicating...