Education Law

Another Teen ‘Sexting’ Peril: Charges (Now Dismissed) Against School Official

When Ting-Yi Oei heard rumors that students at his high school were sending revealing photos to each other on their cell phones, the Loudoun County, Va., assistant principal felt it was his job to investigate this obviously undesirable behavior. In consultation with the school principal and security specialist, he interviewed…

Apr 21, 2009 5:04 PM CDT

Roberts Steps in to Moderate as Justices Spar over Education Stats

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. stepped in yesterday to end the sparring as two justices talked about statistics on immigrant English classes in an Arizona school district. The U.S. Supreme Court case considers whether Arizona schools are complying with federal laws requiring states to take appropriate actions to overcome…

Apr 21, 2009 2:21 PM CDT

‘Little Eichmanns’ Prof Wins Case, Is Awarded One Dollar

A controversial former ethnic studies professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder has won his wrongful dismissal case against his former employer after a state court jury apparently found that Ward Churchill’s termination was because of his political views. But the jury awarded Churchill only $1 in damages. Nonetheless,…

Apr 2, 2009 11:45 PM CDT

Mom Sues Over Fla. Kindergartener Handcuffed in 2005 Temper Tantrum

The mother of a 5-year-old handcuffed by police after other efforts failed to calm the girl down during a kindergarten temper tantrum in 2005 has filed suit over the incident. Inga Akins, 27, seeks damages from the Pinellas County School Board and Fairmount Park Elementary for alleged negligence, malicious prosecution…

Mar 31, 2009 10:15 PM CDT

New Win for Dismissed Dental Student: $321K Legal Fee Caps $1.7M Award

In another federal court victory for an unfairly dismissed University of Michigan dental student, Alissa Zwick has been awarded not quite $321,000 in attorney fees and costs. The university argued that the attorney fee sought was excessive, but U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani awarded all but $2,300 of the amount…

Mar 17, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Ohio Judge Axes NCAA Ban on Lawyers for Student-Athletes

An Ohio judge’s finding that a National Collegiate Athletic Association ban on student-athletes using attorneys in contract negotiations is “arbitrary and capricious” could encourage significant legal representation changes nationally concerning Major League Baseball draft picks. The ruling came in a case filed by Andrew Oliver, an Oklahoma State pitcher. Drafted…

Feb 13, 2009 7:56 PM CST

Grad Student Threatens to Sue Over Destruction of Rare Lizard Dung

Offered $750 in compensation and an apology after Leeds University mistakenly discarded an unmarked bag full of 75 pounds or so of rare lizard dung during an office cleanout, a graduate student isn’t buying. Daniel Bennett plans to sue over the loss of the collection, which he had put together…

Feb 6, 2009 6:41 PM CST

Kindergartener Wins Court Battle Over Long Hair

A kindergartener in Texas may continue to wear his hair long, a federal judge has ruled, apparently finding that the school district’s policy of requiring the child to conceal his braids and isolating him in special classes when he didn’t do so violated his constitutional rights. The father of five-year-old…

Jan 22, 2009 10:42 PM CST

US Judge Overturns Ill. Moment of Silence Law

A federal judge has overturned an Illinois law that requires a moment of silence in public schools. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said the law endorsed religion in violation of the First Amendment’s establishment clause, the Daily Herald reports. “The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable…

Jan 22, 2009 7:02 PM CST

Supreme Court Allows Second Avenue for School Sex Harassment Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Title IX is not the exclusive remedy in school sex harassment suits. The unanimous opinion said suits may also be filed under Section 1983, the broader civil rights law, the Associated Press reports. The court ruled today in a suit brought by parents…

Jan 21, 2009 3:48 PM CST

Federal Judge Might Ax $2M Legal Fee in Seattle ‘Pro Bono’ Case

There’s no question that Davis Wright Tremaine won a civil rights victory for a Seattle parents group by fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court the local school district’s partially race-based high school admissions policy. In 2007, the nation’s top court held that the policy was an unconstitutional…

Jan 14, 2009 8:21 PM CST

Teacher’s Sex With Student, 18, Wasn’t a Crime, Says Wash. Appeals Court

Stopping short of finding that it would be unconstitutional to criminalize a sexual relationship between a high school teacher and his adult student, a Washington state appellate court says the legislature never intended to criminalize such conduct. Although the applicable statute is vague, legislative history shows that it was intended…

Jan 13, 2009 8:42 PM CST

Juveniles Have Right to Counsel in Truancy Cases, Wash. Appeals Court Says

Reversing a trial judge, a Washington appeals court struck down today as unconstitutional a state law permitting a juvenile accused of chronic truancy to have his or her case initially adjudicated even if the child is not represented by a lawyer. Due process requires that the school district be required…

Jan 13, 2009 12:50 AM CST

How 1st-Year Volunteer Stint Made Harvard Grad a Nonprofit Powerhouse

A first-year volunteer stint, working to found an after-school tutoring program for students at a nearby public school, nearly resulted in Earl Martin Phalen’s quitting Harvard Law School. But, despite being engrossed in Building Educated Leaders for Life, which he co-founded with a classmate in 1992, Phalen decided to stay…

Jan 8, 2009 8:09 PM CST

Calif. Law Student’s Class Action Wins $33M Tuition Refund

A lawsuit launched by a former law student at the University of California at Berkeley has netted some $33 million in refunds—make that $42 million, counting interest—for tuition overcharges to some 35,000 UC students. Awards ranged from $1 to $12,000, with graduate students—who were hit with the biggest tuition increases–at…

Jan 6, 2009 11:53 PM CST