Pool Counsel Quarterly Lookback, October 2024: See what you missed!
A roundup of topics covered recently as part of the firm’s subscriber-based service.
Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP is proud to offer a unique subscription-based service entitled "Pool Counsel" to school entities.
With this service, any member of the Pool Counsel service can email on-demand questions anytime on various operational issues related to Special Education or Technology, and all subscribers are "pooled" on the email distribution of the responses.
Here are some topics covered recently:
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1:1 Devices for Students in Home Education Programs
Must school districts provide Chromebooks or iPads to home schooled students?
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Age 22 Policy
After a Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruling on the age 22 policy, Pool Counsel shared considerations of whether districts should comply...or wait for another ruling.
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Act 67
The Pennsylvania legislature and governor have passed what is now known as Act 67 of 2024, which defines new procedures to resolve residency disputes. What are the provisions and consequences?
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"At Risk" and "Child Find" Triggers
Pool Counsel shared a recent court decision where a district failed to respond to a student's threat of violence, and answered several follow up questions from subscribers on threat assessment procedures, evaluations, and in-school therapy.
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Attendance (or lack thereof)
Sometimes, a student's attendance at school is jeopardized by a condition that can adversely affect the child’s educational performance. What about the child who simply refuses to come to school?
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Cell Phone Bags
In Act 55 of 2024, school entities have the ability to enforce the use of lockable cell phone bags. Pool Counsel shared some points districts might consider when making this determination.
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Cyber Charters
In the Pennsylvania General Assembly summer adoption of a budget and omnibus school code bill, it also gave some special attention to cyber charter schools.
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Google Class Action
Pool Counsel explained the reasoning behind a recent notice from Google regarding a class action lawsuit.
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MM v. Wissahickon
Pool Counsel relayed the details of a recent hearing officer decision where the distinction between therapy and education became blurred.
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Preemptive Excusals from Instruction and Imunizations
Pennsylvania law affords parents the right to inspect curriculum and identify units or portions from which they wish a child exempted. Does the law allow parents to identify certain subjects in advance?
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Report Cards for Students with IEPs
A subscriber wondered about the legal requirements for issuing report cards at the end of each marking period to students with IEPs - those in general classroom settings and others in self-contained classrooms.
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Section 504 Plans for Anxiety
Pool Counsel provided cautionary advice stemming from what seems to be the excessive (and unnecessary) recognition of students under Section 504.
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Title IX
Pool Counsel offered a summary of four areas where new Title IX regulation may have a significant effect, relayed how the the Association of Title IX Administrators issued a position statement calling adoption of the new regulations "risky," and shared how recent United States Supreme Court rulings intersect and may affect Title IX regulations.
Benefits of the Pool Counsel service include not only the ability to ask questions 24/7, but also an electronic “Resource Room,” where members can log in to access the full library of all past Pool Counsel answers, searchable by topic and archived by year
To learn more, contact Andy Faust (Special Education) or Mark Cheramie Walz (Technology) or call 215-345-9111.