Education Law

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

Dismissed Dental Student Wins $1.72M Verdict Against Professors

A former dental student at the University of Michigan who was dismissed after her third year due to claimed academic deficiencies has won a $1.72 million verdict from four faculty members there. After a 14-day trial, a federal court jury found earlier this month that the four violated the due…

Dec 24, 2008 3:50 PM CST

Discipline Over Student’s Facebook Comments Sparks Lawsuit

A student who was suspended for three days by her former high school for criticizing an advanced-placement English teacher on her Facebook page is now suing her principal with the help of the ACLU. Katherine Evans, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., is now a college student. By filing a federal…

Dec 9, 2008 11:09 PM CST

Yale Sued by Peru Over Inca Artifacts

Upping the ante in negotiations over the potential return to the Republic of Peru of Inca artifacts obtained by an explorer affiliated with Yale University almost 100 years ago, the country has now sued the renowned educational institution in federal court. Although general counsel Dorothy Robinson says Yale is eager…

Dec 9, 2008 9:09 PM CST

Supreme Court Considers Statutory Remedy for Sex Harassment in Schools

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday on whether Title IX is the only basis for a lawsuit filed by parents who say their 5-year-old daughter was sexually harassed on the school bus. Lisa and Robert Fitzgerald contend they should also be able to sue under Section 1983, the…

Dec 3, 2008 12:05 PM CST

Parents Sue School for Use of Increasingly Popular ID Scan Technology

A Texas couple has filed suit against their local school district in what is believed to be the first legal challenge of an increasingly popular background check system that screens school visitors against a privately maintained sex offender registry. The parents aren’t on any sex offender registries, but they object…

Dec 2, 2008 10:37 PM CST

School District Sued by Students Over High School Newspaper Sex Story

Four current and former high school students in Washington state sued the Puyallup School District in federal court yesterday, contending that their names were used without their permission in a student newspaper article about their sex lives. Students contend that they spoke to JagWire reporters at Emerald Ridge High based…

Nov 13, 2008 10:50 PM CST

No Charges Filed, But Parents of 1 Girl File Suit Over Ohio School Strip Search

Authorities in Monroe County have decided not to file criminal charges over an incident in which several girls at Trinity Lutheran School reportedly were required to strip to their underwear for a search after $42 went missing. A female teacher allegedly conducted the search, but “Principal John Hilken was reportedly…

Nov 6, 2008 6:58 PM CST

Newspaper Critical of Pillsbury’s Review of Molestation Case

The Los Angeles Times launched an investigation into an investigation to determine for itself whether there was wrongdoing when a man suspected of sexual misconduct was allowed to have contact with students. The paper says that what it has found so far is that the investigation by Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw,…

Nov 3, 2008 6:38 PM CST

Minority Enrollment Drop at U-M Law ‘Not a Tragedy’

Since it began using a race-blind admissions process after voters passed Prop. 2 in 2006, the University of Michigan has seen an 8 percent drop in minority enrollment. But statewide, the numbers are actually on the rise. This according to a Detroit News analysis of statewide admission numbers. The paper…

Oct 21, 2008 9:05 PM CDT

Fla. School Board Lawyer May Get Nearly a Year of Paid Vacation

A Florida attorney who has contracted to provide legal services for the Miami-Dade School Board has already spent four months at home on unpaid leave. But now a divided board is hoping to give JulieAnn Rico another six months’ pay in a severance package that will conclude her contract, reports…

Oct 10, 2008 10:35 PM CDT

More NY Lawyers Settle in Pension Probe; $1.28M Recovered to Date by AG

Several more New York lawyers have settled with the state attorney general in an ongoing probe of attorneys in private practice who for years have simultaneously earned benefits and government pension fund credit by being reported as employees of school districts and other government entities. So far, the probe has…

Oct 8, 2008 5:00 PM CDT

Sidley Wins Bid for Supreme Court Appeal—With Client

Sidley Austin was one of several law firms competing for a chance to represent an Oregon school district seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of an education ruling. The school district’s lawyer, Andrea Hungerford, told the Am Law Daily that several law firms e-mailed her with offers to help after the…

Sep 22, 2008 6:07 PM CDT

As Students Head Back to School, Lawyers Head Back to Court

As students start another school year, litigation over their education is on a number of minds. In Chicago, as many as 2,000 predominantly minority students are boycotting the first day of school today and taking special buses to public schools in the upscale suburb of Winnetka, in support of efforts…

Sep 2, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Texas School District is 1st to Let Teachers Pack Heat in Classrooms

When the school year started yesterday, a small district in Texas reportedly made history as the first in the country to allow teachers to carry concealed firearms. “Teachers who wanted to participate had to be approved by the school board, obtain their concealed carry license, and complete extensive training in…

Aug 26, 2008 4:43 PM CDT