Legal Insights

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…

In an October 11, 2012 decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that claims for compensatory education under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are limited by the two-year…

In the Summer 2012 edition of Education News, we discussed anAllegheny County school district’s board policy which provided for the exclusion from school activities of any student who was charged…

Recently Governor Corbett signed into law House Bill 1901, now known as Act 82 of 2012, which made various changes to the Public School Code of 1949. One of those…

One of the fundamental tenets of special education law is that during a pending dispute between a school district and a family regarding a special education student’s proper placement, the…

On December 27, 2011, Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner released a final report concerning an investigation undertaken by the Department’s Office of Special Investigations into the spending practices of the…

In its recent decision in J.D.B. v. North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed students’ rights to traditional Miranda warnings when questioned by police officers in the school setting.  The…

The Pittsburgh law firm of Maiello Brungo & Maiello was appointed Solicitor for Braddock Borough on February 14, 2012. Falco A. Muscante will serve as the primary attorney for the…

Recent changes to Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation (“UC”) law which will impact employers who offer large severance packages to employees.  Where previously, a UC claimant could collect full benefits regardless of…

In a decision announced August 22, 2011, Western District Judge David Cercone dismissed a lawsuit by granting the summary judgment motion filed by MB&M in favor of a client school…

School districts are constantly bombarded by litigation involving federal constitutional rights or protections, whether First Amendment student free speech issues or employee discrimination claims based on age, sex or race. …

Within the last few months, several court decisions and other developments have occurred which impact the internet free speech rights of students and teachers and attempts to address the effect…