Legal Updates

In March, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) issued Special Education Informational Bulletin 24.01 regarding the use of shortened school days.  Bulletin 24.01 replaces Informational Bulletin 14.03 on shortened school days and provides valuable new insights into how the DPI evaluates an individualized education program (IEP) team’s decision to shorten a student’s school day. The…

On February 28, 2024, in Halter v. Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals concluded: (1) the WIAA is a state actor and, therefore, subject to judicial review to determine whether it acted in accord with its rules and regulations and in applying its rules in a nonarbitrary manner; (2) the WIAA applied…

On March 15, 2024, the United States Supreme Court (Court), in a unanimous opinion, articulated a two-part test for determining whether a public official acts on behalf of the government (i.e., engages in state action) when blocking an individual’s comments or the individual on the public official’s social media page.  See Lindke v. Freed, No….

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision on March 7, 2024, in a case involving a challenge to a school district’s Administrative Guidance for Gender Identity Support, as written. The Court dismissed the case because the plaintiff, a group of parents called “Parents Protecting Our Children” (PPOC), lacked standing to…

School districts are often unsure about their obligations to provide transportation to pupils residing in their districts. In understanding their duties, districts must be aware that their obligations may extend beyond their public schools. In some circumstances, districts must provide transportation to and from private schools, even if the private school is located outside the…

Wisconsin’s Fair Employment Act (WFEA) contains protections against discrimination on the basis of certain employee characteristics, such as gender, national origin, or disability. The law also protects against discrimination on the basis of employee conduct, such as protections against discrimination for the use or nonuse of lawful products, or discrimination for one’s arrest and conviction…

Public school districts operate in a complex legal context.  The actions of school boards and school district officials must comply with a wide array of local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations.  School districts, school boards, and school district officials retain lawyers and law firms for a variety of reasons.  This Legal Update will…

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court changed the long-standing standard for the accommodation of an employee’s religious beliefs and practices in the workplace in its decision, Groff v. DeJoy, a case involving a U.S. Postal Service employee, who requested a schedule that did not require him to work on Sundays, as an accommodation…

In December 2023, the Wisconsin Assembly introduced Assembly Bill 723 (“AB 723”), which, if passed, will require Wisconsin school districts to conduct competitive bidding procedures for certain expenditures exceeding $150,000.  The Bill was referred to the Committee on Local Government on December 6, 2023, and is awaiting further action. Under current law, “political subdivisions” are…

On November 14, 2023, the Wisconsin State Assembly (Assembly) passed Assembly Bill 223 (Bill).  The Bill offers designated school personnel and certain health care providers, including school nurses, immunity for administering an opioid antagonist to a student or other person in an elementary or secondary school regardless of parental consent.  Opioid antagonists are medications that…