Public School Student Regular Open Enrollment Reminders
The Public School Student Regular Open Enrollment application period for the 2022-23 school year opened on February 7, 2022, and will remain open until 4:00 PM on April 29, 2022. Open enrollment affords parents/guardians an opportunity to apply for their children to attend public school in a nonresident district tuition free. Under the open enrollment […]
U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Case To Review Employee Free Speech Rights
The U.S Supreme Court recently granted a petition for certiorari to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding employee free speech in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 142 S.Ct. 857 (Jan. 14, 2022). This case raises several first amendment constitutional questions regarding the intersection of employees’ rights to free speech and free exercise […]
Decision Awards Employee Penalty Pay in Workers Compensation Claim
Wisconsin Winters and Workers Compensation – not a great combination. Unfortunately, Winter in Wisconsin involves potentially treacherous conditions and injuries, such as slip and fall injuries. Typically, when employees are injured in the course of their employment, the Workers Compensation insurance carrier handles the claims, including the medical expenses as well as income replacement in […]
Equal Pay Act Claims
This legal update provides a refresher regarding the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”). The EPA is a federal law that applies to most employers. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages for equal work, “the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar […]
Reminder Regarding Virtual Board Meetings
As we experience yet another wave of concern regarding COVID-19, coupled with the concurrent flu and cold seasons in Wisconsin, some governmental bodies have again chosen to meet virtually in certain circumstances. Given this reality, a quick reminder of the Wisconsin Open Meetings law and the guidance from Wisconsin Attorney General on the issue is […]
Use of Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) Organization Security and Confidentiality Agreements During the COVID-19 Pandemic
When school districts enter into a Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) Organization Security and Confidentiality Agreement (Confidentiality Agreement) with the Department of Health Services (DHS), authorized users are afforded certain rights and responsibilities. This article focuses on the rights of school districts in accessing and using student COVID-19 vaccination data located on the WIR. In addition, […]
The Effective Use of School District Legal Counsel
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 […]
The Terminology of Real Estate Law
As a layperson trying to navigate the legal world of real estate, a lot of times the vocabulary used is hard to understand. Herein, I define some common legal terms and provide examples of the use of those legal terms that are commonly used in real estate law. This should help one to better understand […]
Booster Club Donations & Title IX Regulations
Amidst the season of giving, this article comes as a reminder regarding the obligations school districts have with respect to receiving donations from booster clubs or other support organizations. While Wis. Stat. § 118.27(2) allows school boards to receive donations from booster clubs or other support organizations, the subsection creates a potential conflict with Title […]
Student Expulsion Procedure Reminder
Already during the 2021-2022 school year, students’ return to regular in-person instruction from hybrid and virtual instructional programming seems to have increased the incidence of student misconduct leading to expulsion. As a result, we are using this Legal Update to provide a refresher on some of the necessary student expulsion procedures for school district administrators […]