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June 2010 NEWSLETTER
 
Welcome to the June 2010 issue of our monthly newsletter dedicated to keeping you current on Education Law and related issues. 
 FEATURED CLIENT TESTIMONIALS:
 
"Although we never met in person, your telephone discussions with my law office concerning an educational report that you wrote were exemplary in a most professional way.  Thank you for your expertise. When the need arises for an educational expert, my office will call on you."
 
Sarah Dragotta, Esq.
Law Office of Sarah B. Dragotta
Doylestown, PA
In This Issue
Reece v. Pocatello/Chubbuck School Dist. No. 25, (D.Idaho)
D.B. v. Bedford County School Bd, (W.D.Va.)
Mulgrew v. Board of Educ. of City School Dist. of City of New York, (N.Y.Sup.)
Hansen v. Bath & Tennis Marina Corp., (N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept.)
Reece v. Pocatello/Chubbuck School Dist. No. 25, (D.Idaho)
May 26, 2010: Labor and Employment - Teacher's reassignment was adverse employment action, as required to establish prima facie Title IX retaliation claim. A public school teacher's involuntary reassignment from his position as a keyboarding teacher in one school to a geography teacher at a completely different school constituted an "adverse employment action," as required to establish a prima facie Title IX retaliation claim. The teacher had taught keyboarding for 13 years prior to his reassignment. Additionally, he had never taught and had no background in geography. Finally, the teacher was not told about his new assignment until the first day of school, despite his numerous requests for the information.
D.B. v. Bedford County School Bd, (W.D.Va.)
May 26, 2010: Disabled Students - Student's individual education plan was not reasonably calculated to enable student to receive educational benefits. A student's individual education plan was not reasonably calculated to enable him to receive educational benefits, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The school board did not use psychological testing to evaluate the student for a specific learning disability, or to make any eligibility determinations regarding a specific learning disability, even though the student appeared to have a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language. Moreover, the student's eligibility documentation did not disclose any statements whether he had a specific learning disability, nor any basis for making that determination.
Mulgrew v. Board of Educ. of City School Dist. of City of New York, (N.Y.Sup.)
May 24, 2010: School Boards - School board's decision to close schools was null and void. A decision of a city board of education to close and change the utilization of 19 city schools was null and void for the board's failure to follow statutory prerequisites. The board's educational impact statement (EIS) completely failed to provide information about specific programs existing at the schools proposed to be closed or phased out, or where the students would be able to find such programs after closure. The board failed to file print copies of EISs with impacted community council, community boards, community superintendent, and schoolbased management teams, and only made the documents available on the department's website. The public meetings held to discuss the board's closing of schools were not "joint" meetings, since the board merely told the community education councils (CEC) and school leadership teams (SLT) where to be, and gave them a script of what they were to say at the meetings.
Hansen v. Bath & Tennis Marina Corp., (N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept.)
May 23, 2010: Torts - Student's injuries were not foreseeable. A school had no duty to supervise a high school student who was injured while participating in an extracurricular club activity off-campus, where the student had voluntarily left the school grounds with a student club to serve food at a community fundraiser. But even if the school had a duty to supervise the club members, it was not foreseeable that a student would attempt to light a canister of sterno herself. Thus the school was not liable for the resulting injuries to the student under a theory of negligent supervision.
Quick Links
 
Learn more about us and how our education and school liability expertise can help resolve your education case.
 
 
 
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phone: 609.397.8989
Dr. Dragan was invited to speak at the Education Law Association Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
 
Dr. Dragan's topic is:
"Understanding Liability in School Cases: Limiting Your Liability - Improving Your School."
 
For more information about the conference please visit
www.educationlaw.org
Featured Articles
 
Dr. Dragan Headshot 

Dr. Dragan appeared on NBC's 
Special Report: Fighting 
Back Against Bullies 
 
by Danner Evans 

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - On the playground, internet and cell phone your children are taunted, tortured and bullied until they become another statistic, another headline. 

This year those headlines keep coming. In January, Phoebe Prince, 15, hanged herself in her Massachusetts home after reports of relentless bullying. In March, 17-year-old Alexis Pilkington committed suicide after being terrorized on the internet.

Patrick Kohlmann, 15, knows their pain. "Being a victim of bullying I know how they feel," Kohlmann said. "I've been down that road - thoughts of suicide and harming myself."

But he is fighting back in a peaceful way. He is now an anti-bullying activist who talks to administrators and at-risk children about his experience. He also designed a website and video so people can see bullying through his eyes, the victim's eyes. Full Text Article 
  
 
FOR OTHER EDUCATION RELATED ARTICLES VISIT OUR RE-DESIGNED WEBSITE AND BLOG
 
 
 
 
FOR OTHER EDUCATION RELATED ARTICLES VISIT OUR RE-DESIGNED WEBSITE AND BLOG
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I hope that our newsletter has provided you with valuable information.  If there is anything else that you would like us to include please do not hesitate to give us your feedback.
 
As a litigation consultant and education administration expert, I am committed to providing individualized service to our clients while dealing with large and complex consultations quickly and professionally.  These include case review and analysis, expert testimony, school reviews in custody matters, presentations and working with parents or schools to ensure children receive an appropriate education. 
 
I take pride in the fact that my firm responds to our clients' needs personally and promptly.  We continue to strive to combine the resources of a large firm with the personal consultant-client rapport of a small practice.
 
Sincerely,
 
Edward F. Dragan, Ed.D.
Education Management Consulting, LLC