Legal Insights

Revisions to the Professional Educator Discipline Act (Act) became effective February 16, 2014. The Act increases an educator’s responsibility to report and expands the instances in which a report to…

For many years, there was little court guidance on the use of Executive Sessions under the Sunshine Act.  However, in recent years, two (2) court decisions now provide guidance to…

In K.A. v. Fulton County School District the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the IDEA does not require a school district to request a due process…

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court’s 2014 student transportation decision in Watts v. Manheim is likely to raise school district transportation costs in a climate where school districts are trying to save…

Maiello Brungo & Maiello is pleased to announce that the Keystone Oaks School District has appointed the law firm as solicitor for the district. In that role, the firm will…

In the Spring 2012 edition of Education News, we reported the United States District Court dismissal of the Morrow vs. BlackhawkSchool District case involving a student’s claim that the District…

More and more school districts are establishing Foundations which are used to solicit and accept donations to assist in paying for school district programs and projects.  However, school districts must…

Procedural safeguards under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) provide parents a meaningful opportunity to participate in the decision-making process.  Parental consent and participation is required for evaluation,…

Teacher use of social networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter, can be a minefield for teachers and other district employees.  When a disgruntled school district employee takes to Twitter to…

School districts around the state have breathed a little easier since the Obama Administration announced in July that it would delay to 2015 the new health care law’s mandate that…

In the past twenty years, the Internet and cell phones have revolutionized the way the world communicates and transacts business.  In order to “enhance and promote the reliability of electronic…

On December 28, 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision which may impact whether your school district decides to offer an early retirement incentive (ERI) as part of planned…

One of the many changes made to the School Code by the Pennsylvania Legislature at the close of the 2011-2012 session was an overhaul of Section 1072, which governs the…

In the Fall 2011 edition of Education News, we addressed situations where a school district could be exposed to electronically stored information (ESI) spoliation sanctions and provided steps to include…

On October 25, 2012,Pennsylvania joined a growing number of states in enacting Act 198 of 2012 that tailors the punishment for youth involved in “sexting” rather than relying on existing…