Sweet Stevens Announces Internal Investigations Service
Sweet Stevens announces the addition of a formal internal investigations service to help school entities respond to allegations of employee misconduct.
For the convenience of our Technology Pool Counsel subscribers, we have compiled a list of our most-requested policy recommendations. Below you'll find suggested guidelines for everything from record retention to device usage and electronic permissions. If you have a suggestion for something you don't see listed here, contact Technology Pool editors Karl Romberger or Mark Cheramie Walz.
Sweet Stevens Client District Ratifies Teacher Contract without Salary Schedules
Weeks after the firm released an informational newsletter on issues and questions related to Pennsylvania's current teacher salary schedule model, a client district successfully ratifies a new contract without salary schedules.
Employee’s Temporary, Non-Chronic Impairment Does Not Meet ADA Definition of “Disabled.”
Sweet Stevens Katz & Williams was recently successful in dismissing a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act in federal court based on the argument that the former employee of a school district did not present sufficient evidence that she had a disability.
Ellis Katz Presenting at PASBO Conference
Ellis Katz is a scheduled presenter at the 60th Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO). His s session is entitled “The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Employees.”
Second Strikes are Avoidable
Does a teachers' union truly have a guaranteed right to employ two strikes per school year?
The Status of the IDEA’s Two-Year Statute of Limitations: Does 2 Really Mean 4?
The IDEA was revised in 2004 to include an explicit statute of limitations period for complaining parties to initiate due process complaints, however, arguments have been accepted by some courts that two years really means four years.
Montanye to Present at Conference on Special Education Due Process Hearings
Sharon Montanye will participate on a panel of experts for an upcoming CLE program in Philadelphia entitled “The Due Process Hearing," hosted by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.
What are School Districts’ Obligations to English Language Learners?
On January 7, 2015, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued joint guidance on public school obligations to English Language Learners (ELL) in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter.
Can a District Decline to Conduct a Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation Under PA’s Chapter 16 Regs?
Pennsylvania’s gifted education regulations provide limited conditions under which a district may decline to conduct a gifted multidisciplinary evaluation of a student whom parents or teachers suspect to be gifted and not receiving an appropriate education.
College Courses and Transition Planning
Although college courses exceed the scope of state and local curricular standards, the experience can be a bona fide part of an IEP...