With the calendar turning to August, school districts across Wisconsin are gearing up for another school year impacted by COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) caused a stir at the end of July when it issued new guidance recommending that students return to fully in-person learning this Fall and that all students, staff, and…
Much of the media coverage and discussion of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has focused on stimulus checks and employee paid-leave provisions. However, ARPA also included several other significant provisions that affect public school districts and their special education programs. ARPA allocated nearly $123 billion to a new Elementary and Secondary Schools…
School districts across Wisconsin have adopted new or modified existing modes of instruction to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, many school districts now offer virtual options that did not exist at the start of 2020. Even though the 2020-2021 school year is not half over, a critical deadline looms for the…
School districts across Wisconsin are contemplating how to begin school for the 2020-2021 school year with the current public health emergency caused by COVID-19. There are essential questions that school districts must answer concerning special education once the district determines whether to start school entirely virtual, entirely in-person, or with a hybrid model that blends…
On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court (“Court”) decided three (3) cases filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) alleging sex discrimination based on the employees’ sexual orientation or transgender status. Bostock v. Clayton Cty., Georgia, No. 17-1618, 2020 WL 3146686. The Court concluded that discrimination because an…
On May 29, 2020, the Department of Public Instruction (“DPI”) issued new guidance on how school districts must address the impact of the extended school closures due to COVID-19 on students with disabilities. The new guidance refers to the services provided by school districts to address students’ lack of access to special education and related…
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) initially ordered all public and private schools closed from March 18, 2020, through April 6, 2020, due to the health emergency caused by COVID-19. DHS extended the school closures on March 17, 2020, for the “duration of the health emergency or until a subsequent order lifts this specific…
Within the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), Congress requested a report from U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on recommended waiver authority for the Department of Education to provide State and local educational agencies flexibility to meet the needs of students with disabilities during the public health emergency. Secretary DeVos issued the…
In our previous Legal Update, we explained the flurry of legal actions and court decisions that occurred in the last few days before today’s Spring Election. As discussed in the earlier Legal Update, the United States Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) overruled the injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of…
From the beginning of the public health emergency caused by COVID-19, it seemed likely it would impact the April 7, 2020, Spring Election. After the Department of Health Services (the “DHS”) closed schools effective March 18, 2020, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (the “WEC”) authorized municipal clerks to change/consolidate polling places to address closed locations such…