Thought Leadership

TEA Provides Clarification on the Implementation of HB 3928

August 11, 2023

As you gear up for the beginning of the school year, your special education teams are likely discussing the new dyslexia bill, HB 3928, and how these recent legislative changes will impact your operations. In case you missed it, we provided an overview of the bill’s new requirements on our blog back in June, which you can find here.

On August 3, 2023, TEA released an FAQ guidance document in an effort to assist local education agencies in the implementation of HB 3928 while the State Board of Education works to update the Dyslexia Handbook. While we highly recommend a thorough review of the entire FAQ document, below is a summary of TEA’s current guidance on some of the more common questions we have been receiving.

The post TEA Provides Clarification on the Implementation of HB 3928 appeared first on Special Education Spotlight.

New Accelerated Instruction Requirements Call for Changes to Policies & Procedures for 2023-2024

August 4, 2023

In the wake of the pandemic, House Bill 4545 left school districts scrambling to figure out how to address learning loss for all students, including students with disabilities, through accelerated instruction. School districts were cautiously optimistic that the most recent legislative session would ease many of the burdens of House Bill 4545. In June 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1416—otherwise known as the House Bill 4545 ‘Clean-Up Bill—which introduces new changes to the accelerated education environment. While House Bill 1416 narrows some requirements for school districts, it broadens others.

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Texas’ 88th Legislature Report Card: Passes and Fails

August 3, 2023 //

In this webinar, Thompson & Horton attorneys recap the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature and lead a discussion

Summiting Mt. Clemens: The Fifth Circuit Reminds Employers that Failing to Maintain Accurate Time Records Could Be a Very Costly Mistake

July 14, 2023

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to create and maintain accurate records of hours worked each workday and each workweek by non-exempt employees. These types of records are commonly used to prove overtime and minimum wage violations—but what are employees supposed to do when their employer not only fails to properly compensate them, but also fails to properly create or maintain the very documents needed to prove their claims?

The post Summiting Mt. Clemens: The Fifth Circuit Reminds Employers that Failing to Maintain Accurate Time Records Could Be a Very Costly Mistake appeared first on Educated Employer.

Counterman v. Colorado: Changing how the Courts View the “True Threat” Doctrine

July 7, 2023

The post Counterman v. Colorado: Changing how the Courts View the “True Threat” Doctrine appeared first on The Oldest Blog.

There’s A[nother] New Accommodation Standard in Town: Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects De Minimis Cost Test for Title VII Religious Accommodations, and Confirms Limitations on Coworker Impact Evidence in Undue Hardship Analysis

June 29, 2023

As we wrote earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court agreed to consider a case challenging the standard by which an employer may refuse to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs. Since the Court’s 1977 decision in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, many lower courts have held that employers could deny a requested religious accommodation if providing it would result in “more than a de minimis cost.” For years, critics have argued that the de minimis cost test does not appear anywhere in the language of Title VII, and effectively eliminates the statute’s protections against religious discrimination. On June 29, 2023, a unanimous Supreme Court agreed.

The post There’s A[nother] New Accommodation Standard in Town: Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects De Minimis Cost Test for Title VII Religious Accommodations, and Confirms Limitations on Coworker Impact Evidence in Undue Hardship Analysis appeared first on Educated Employer.