The Oldest Blog
A first amendment blog for school administrators and attorneys.
The post Litigation Update: READER Act on hold….. appeared first on The Oldest Blog.
The post FAPE Focus: Interpreters appeared first on Special Education Spotlight.
When a student transfers to the district during the school year with an IEP, the IDEA provides rules for providing services to the student. If a student moves during the summer, the IDEA is silent, other than the general rule that an IEP must be in effect for all eligible students on the first day of school. The Texas regulations provide timelines to adopt or create a new IEP for transfer students, and revised regulations in effect starting this school year provide additional details and shorten some of those timelines. The requirements can seem a bit confusing because they vary depending on whether the student is transferring intrastate or interstate and during the school year or summer. We have summarized the requirements for you in the chart below.
The post New Student? New Rules appeared first on Special Education Spotlight.
HB 3033 passed during the 88th Legislative Session, effective September 1, 2023, makes significant changes to the Texas Public Information
Introducing Thompson & Horton’s FAPE Focus, a series of short posts on our SpEd Law Spotlight blog to provide timely updates, practical tips, and useful reminders. First up: TEA has released the form required by HB 3928 that districts must provide to parents when there is reason to suspect a student may have dyslexia and need specialized instruction. The TEA FAQ clarifies that TEA expects districts to provide the form to parents when the district proposes to conduct an IDEA evaluation for dyslexia, refuses to conduct such an evaluation, and when the district proposes or refuses to conduct an IDEA evaluation for any other suspected disability. Districts should incorporate provision of the form into their practices starting immediately.
The post Introducing Thompson & Horton’s FAPE Focus appeared first on Special Education Spotlight.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has broadened the scope of employment actions that may become grounds for an employment discrimination lawsuit and reversed its longstanding precedent that previously required plaintiffs to show they experienced a discriminatory ultimate employment decision, such as being hired, granted leave, discharged, promoted, or compensation issues. On August 18, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued an en banc decision in the Felesia Hamilton, et al. v. Dallas County case and adopted a new threshold for discrimination lawsuits. The Fifth Circuit will now allow plaintiffs to sue if they claim that discrimination affected the “terms, conditions, and privileges” of their employment. This is a lower threshold than the prior “ultimate employment decision” standard.
The Fifth Circuit noted that “de minimis workplace trifles” are still insufficient to establish a discrimination claim. The Court, however, declined to give lower courts and employers more guidance on the threshold that will now apply in discrimination lawsuits and suggested the standard will be fine-tuned in future decisions. As is, the Fifth Circuit’s decision may lead to an increased number of employment discrimination lawsuits and make it more difficult for employers to obtain dismissal of claims at early stages of litigation.
The post The Fifth Circuit Adopts a New Standard for Discrimination Claims and Allows Suits Based on Workplace Actions that Affect the “Terms, Conditions, and Privileges of Employment” appeared first on Educated Employer.