By Abby S. Busler On June 6, 2017, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released internal guidance on transgender student complaints. The memorandum eliminates OCR reliance on the May 2016 Dear Colleague Letter. OCR will no longer process complaints based solely on the basis of transgender students being denied facility use, such as restrooms or...
By D|K's Labor and Employment Team Former employees who are currently collecting benefits under the Wisconsin ETF should carefully consider the potential effect of resuming work for a WRS employer on their benefit payments. The reemployment rules can be confusing, and take into account the dates of the annuitant’s prior WRS employment. Annuitants...
By James M. Kalny On June 29, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an opinion in State of Wisconsin ex rel. John Krueger v. Appleton Area School District Board of Education and Communication Arts 1 Materials Review Committee, No. 2015AP231 regarding what constitutes a governmental body for purposes of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law. The Supreme...
By D|K's School and Higher Education Law Team In a much anticipated special education decision, the United States Supreme Court vacated and remanded the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The Court stated, in the unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that school districts...
By Laurie E. Meyer In a precedent setting decision, Hively v. Ivy Tech, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court having jurisdiction for Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois, ruled on April 4, 2017, that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual...
On March 6, 2017, the United States Supreme Court, in a one sentence order, indicated that they would not hear Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., the pending transgender case. The Court stated that the judgment was vacated and remanded back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for “further consideration in light of the guidance issued by...
By D|K's School and Higher Education Law Team The U.S. Department of Education, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, issued a Dear Colleague Letter on February 22, 2017 withdrawing the “statements of policy and guidance” originally found in their May 13, 2016 Letter on Transgender Students. As discussed in our May 20, 2016 client alert, and...
By Robert W. Burns & Anthony J. Steffek In a resounding success for Wisconsin school districts, another attempt by the Wisconsin Education Association Council to use the courts to re-insert pre-Act 10 collectively bargained terms into individual teaching contracts has been rejected. In Marks, et al. v. Board of Education of the Wisconsin...
By Hugo P. Rojas A recent unpublished opinion of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirms the principle that Wisconsin school districts are authorized to unilaterally determine the amount of retiree benefits offered in the post-Act 10 era. The Court’s August 2016 ruling in Townsend v. Neenah Joint School District brought closure to a series of...
Featured News: U.S. Supreme Court to Weigh in on Transgender Issue as Wisconsin Federal Judge Allows Transgender Discrimination Lawsuit to Proceed Under Title IX Court Denies Teachers' Attempt at Pre-Act 10 Protections Playing with Fire - Are You Using PBIS Appropriately with Disciplinary Removals? Wisconsin Court of Appeals Upholds School...
