On Thursday, March 8, 2018, the General Assembly’s Education Committee will conduct a public hearing on the following proposed bills: S.B. No. 364 AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING. This bill would lower the special education “excess cost” grant threshold from four and one-half times to two times the average per pupil educational costs of…
In the aftermath of another senseless and tragic school shooting, school districts are understandably looking inwards as they contemplate the need to adjust their security measures. I am frequently asked how school districts can consider their options while still complying with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act [“FOIA”]. Fortunately, the FOIA contains protections for schools…
We have previously written in these pages about the development of “guidelines” or “standards” by the State Board of Education for the provision of educational opportunities for expelled students. Click here to read Part 1 & Part 2. Having had just a (teeny) little bit of time to ponder the final version of these guidelines, which were…
In 2017, our firm published a summary of new legislation affecting Connecticut’s schools and public sector employers. http://www.pullcom.com/news-publications-929.html However, the 2017 “regular session” of the Connecticut General Assembly was not the final word. Due to the absence of a state budget, the General Assembly had to convene a “special session” and it was not until…
Attorneys Michael P. McKeon, Mark J. Sommaruga and Melinda B. Kaufmann of Pullman & Comley’s School Law Practice will be presenting at the firm’s semi-annual Special Education Legal Issues Forum on October 27, 2017 (registration and breakfast 7:30 AM – 8:00 AM; program 8:00 AM- 12:00 PM) at the offices of the Connecticut Association of Schools…
In 2016, Connecticut’s General Assembly passed Public Act 16-147: AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE POLICY AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. This Act made several changes to school discipline laws which were to take effect on August 15, 2017. Most dramatically, the Act significantly increased the amount of instruction to be delivered to expelled…
Last Friday (August 11, 2017), the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a decision garnering significant press attention in which it ruled that 1) Connecticut public policy imposes a duty upon schools to warn or protect against the risk of serious insect-borne disease when organizing trips abroad, and 2) a $41.5 million jury verdict with respect to…
The Connecticut General Assembly enacted a number of laws during its 2017 regular session that will impact Connecticut schools. Among other things, bills have been enacted that: (1) “repeal and replace” last year’s radical enhancement of the alternative educational opportunity offered to students who are expelled from schools and that was supposed to take effect…
The 2017 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded at midnight, June 7, 2017, without accomplishing its most important task (passing a budget). As such, the General Assembly will eventually have to convene a “special session.” In the meantime, our legislature did pass several bills that will affect Connecticut schools. Among other things, the…
As my colleague Rachel Ginsburg aptly foretold, Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities [“CHRO”] has indicated an interest in involving itself with discrimination claims concerning the schools. A recent case shows how CHRO can handle (or mishandle) matters that have previously been deemed to be the exclusive province of special education “due process” hearing…
