Court Enjoins Enforcement of Public Sector Collective Bargaining Law
In Missouri NEA et al. v. Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations et al., Case No. 18SL-CC03310 (“Litigation”) the NEA and six other labor organizations (Plaintiffs) sued the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (Department), the State Board of Mediation (“SBM”), Ferguson-Florissant and Hazelwood School Districts and various other public bodies (“Defendants”)....
Missouri Supreme Court Rules Gay and Transgender Plaintiffs Have a Claim under the Missouri Human Rights Act
A pair of cases decided by the Supreme Court of Missouri yesterday held that two plaintiffs — a gay employee and a transgender student — both stated sufficient allegations to proceed with a lawsuit under the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”).
Each of these cases was focused on the legal requirements for proceeding with...
U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies School Districts’ Obligation to Provide Free Appropriate Public Education
The United States Supreme Court handed down its decision on March 22, 2017 in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, No. 15-827 (3/22/2017), regarding the standard for determining whether a child has been offered a Free Appropriate Public Education ("FAPE").
In the unanimous (8-0) decision, the Court held that each Individualized...
Trump Administration Withdraws Guidance for Public Schools on Transgender Student Issues, Including Restroom Access
Late on February 22, 2017, the Departments of Education and Justice (“Departments”) published a Dear Colleague Letter (“DCL”) withdrawing guidance which had previously been handed down by the Obama administration regarding public schools' treatment of transgender students. The previous guidance came in the form of two other DCLs, dated January 7, 2015 and...
Hearings For School District Employees on Administrative Leave
On September 14, 2016, the Missouri legislature overrode the governor’s veto and passed House Bill No. 1432, a copy of which you can find here. Under that bill, which was effective October 14, a school district employee, other than a probationary teacher, who is put on paid administrative leave must...