Welcome to the October 2010 issue of our monthly newsletter dedicated to keeping you current on Education Law and related issues. |
FEATURED CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
"I thought organization, presentation (i.e. development) of opinion, and identification of issues was particularly effective. I thought your report was superb. Methodical, thorough, analytical, credible these attributes, in conjunction with your outstanding credentials, render your opinion virtually unassailable; my winning the battle of the experts was a substantial factor in bringing about settlement."
Christopher McGarry, Esq.
Nowell, Amoroso, Klein, Bierman, PC
Hackensack, New Jersey |
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Next Tuesday October 12, 2010, Dr. Dragan will be appearing on News 12 New Jersey's show "12 In Our Schools" with Bryan Jenkins to discuss bullying, how parents can identify it and what they can do to help their children. Visit www.news12.com for more information.
Dr. Dragan's book The Bully Action Guide is now available for preorder. The book gives parents the tools to discuss bullying with their child; talk effectivley to teachers and administrators; and educates parents on their rights and the school's legal obligations. To reserve your copy please click here to fill out the pre order form.
Dr. Dragan was invited to present at the Education Law Association Annual Conference to be held this year in Vancouver November 10-13, 2010. For more information about the conference go to www.educationlaw.org
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| Featured Articles |
Understanding Liability in School Cases
By Edward F. Dragan
It is commonly accepted that school liability has increased over the past several years, especially in the area of tort liability. Wrongful death, serious injury, sexual harassment, and bullying all present opportunities for large settlements or jury verdicts. However, an analysis of recent decisions in negligence cases brought against schools indicates that the frequency of lawsuits generally has not changed over the past two decades. Moreover, the majority of outcomes have been decided conclusively in favor of the school.
Tort liability is a staple of education law. Government immunity generally protects schools from most issues of liability. There are, however, exceptions - which vary from state to state - that can leave schools vulnerable to liability. To that end, it is incumbent upon attorneys to learn how the elements that must be proven in negligence cases apply to schools and upon educators to understand these elements to foresee potential liabilities and avert them.
This article will review the statistical data regarding school-related injuries, the frequency and outcomes of recent published decisions, the expanding universe of duties placed on schools, and a framework for assessing a school's liability if a duty to protect is breached.
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Articles from previous issues:
Presented by Dr. Dragan at
Student Safety and Security Conference, Orlando FL
on April 15, 2010
Dr. Dragan's article published in American School, December 2009
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 |
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Learn more about us and how our education and school liability expertise can help resolve your education case.
phone: 609.397.8989 |
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| Federal court orders Chicago Board of Education to rescind reduction in force of tenured teachers |
October 7, 2010: A federal district court in Illinois has granted the Chicago Teachers Union's (CTU) motion for preliminary and permanent injunctions, ordering the Chicago Board of Education (CBOE) to rescind its recent economic layoff of tenured teachers and to promulgate, in negotiation with CTU, layoff and recall rules for tenured teachers. The court concluded that CBOE's resolution authorizing the "honorable termination" of tenured teachers as part of an economic layoff of nearly 1,300 teachers violated the tenured teachers' Fourteenth Amendment rights because it deprived them of property without due process. It found that the Illinois School Code imposed a mandatory obligation on the CBOE to establish procedures on layoff and recall of tenured teachers.
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| Parents not entitled to tuition reimbursement under IDEA despite prolonged delay in determination that IEP was appropriate |
September 27, 2010: In a non-precedential decision, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit three-judge panel has unanimously ruled that a disabled student, whose parents rejected a school district's individualized education plan (IEP) that called for placement of the student in one of the district's schools, is not entitled to tuition reimbursement or compensatory education where the appropriateness of the IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was upheld, even though there was an extended delay between the time the parents requested a due process hearing and the federal district court's ultimate decision on the issue. The panel concluded the unwarranted delay did not, as the parents suggested, provide an "independent justification for granting an award of tuition reimbursement or compensatory education."
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| Parents' suit claims teacher's use of restraint and seclusion on disabled student excessive |
September 15, 2010:David and Maureen Bordelon have filed suit in a Texas federal district court on behalf of their son, who suffers from autism, against Allen Independent School District (AISD), according to the Southeast Texas Record, alleging that their son's s special education teacher's use of restraints and seclusion to control him was excessive. According to the suit, the incident in question occurred when the student became upset after being requested to stop working at the computer. The child began to hit the teachers and "crab walk" towards them with agitation. According to the parents' complaint, the special ed teaching assistant demanded that the child stand up and when he resisted the teachers restrained him using a towel.
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