On October 11, 2023, Berchem Moses secured a hearing officer’s order preventing the retroactive application of Section 47 of Public Act 23-137 concerning which party proceeds first with their evidence in a special education due process hearing to a case that had originally been filed with the Bureau of Special Education on May 1, 2023. At the time that the due process complaint was filed, Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies § 10-76h-14 provided that “[t]he party who filed for due process has the burden of going forward with the evidence,” meaning that the parents would typically proceed ..read more

This past legislative session, the Connecticut Legislature extended the timeline through which students are eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”).  Per Public Act 23-137, all students remain eligible for special education services under the IDEA: Through the end of the school year[1] during which the student turns 22; or Until the student graduates from high school with a regular high school diploma (whichever comes first). On July 14, 2023, the Connecticut State Department of Education (“CSDE”) issued Guidance outlining issues that school ..read more

On March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled that parents of students with disabilities who sue for disability discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), do not have to exhaust their remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) before seeking monetary damages.  The case, Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, involved a deaf student who, through his parents, brought a claim that his school district misrepresented his aide’s qualifications in American Sign Language.  Due in part to these misrepresentations, the parent ..read more

The Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (“LEAP”) reports success since its launch in April 2021. The program was established using federal Covid-19 relief funding with the goal of curbing student chronic absenteeism in the districts of Bridgeport, CREC, Danbury, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Haven, New Britain, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury and Windham. Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing 10% of in-class instruction time—whether the absences are disciplinary, excused, or unexcused. Once students are identified, LEAP employs a rel ..read more

The U.S. Department of Education recently issued a Letter to State Directors of Special Education on Ensuring a High-Quality Education for Highly Mobile Children, updating guidance and resources originally set forth in the Department’s July 19, 2013 Dear Colleague Letter. The purpose of the letter is to provide a list of resources and reminders to States to improve the educational stability and outcomes for highly mobile children with disabilities under the IDEA. Highly mobile children are youths who experience frequent moves into new districts, due to being military-connected, migratory, faci ..read more

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a resource to remind school communities that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects students and employees from discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions. Protections for Students Title IX protects students against harassment by school employees or other students because of their pregnancy and related conditions. Schools must treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and recovery therefrom the same as any other temporary disability with respect to any hospital or medical b ..read more

On September 27, 2022 the Connecticut State Department of Education [“CSDE”] released Guidance on the recent legislation surrounding Remote Learning and Dual Instruction [“Guidance”]. Definitions The Guidance reiterates that Sections 10-4w(c-d) prohibit dual instruction as part of remote learning. “Dual instruction” was defined as “the simultaneous instruction by a teacher to students in-person in the classroom and students engaged in remote learning.” In turn, “remote learning” was defined as “instruction by means of one or more Internet-based software platforms as part of a remote learning m ..read more

In the waning hours of the recently concluded session, the Legislature added a provision to a bill on childhood mental health requiring that all certified staff having direct contact with students receive a minimum uninterrupted lunch of 30 minutes.  While legislation (C.G.S. §10-156a) already existed requiring that teachers be provided a duty free lunch, it has now been amended to guarantee that the lunch be (1) uninterrupted, and (2) the greater of 30 minutes or the amount of time provided in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.  The changes become effective July 1, 2022 ..read more

Governor Lamont announced a plan to end the statewide mask mandate for schools and childcare centers in Connecticut effective February 28, 2022.  The plan places the decision whether to require masks in schools and childcare centers with local authorities. With Governor Lamont’s emergency powers set to expire on February 15, 2022, the governor reached an agreement with legislative leaders to continue certain executive orders past the February 15th date.  One of those executive orders allows the state Department of Education and the state Department of Public Health to establish rules ..read more

As anticipated, late Monday night, the State legislature extended Governor Lamont’s emergency powers by February 22, 2022. Yesterday, the Governor issued Executive Order No. 14, which extends the deadlines for several previous Orders, including the most recent ones dealing with mandatory vaccines for certain health care workers, state employees, school employees, and those working in childcare facilities. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Office-of-the-Governor/Executive-Orders/Lamont-Executive-Orders/Executive-Order-No-14.pdf The deadline for employees to ensure covered workers are in compliance ..read more