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• Chaperones must consider risk of lawsuit [HTML 1,546kb]
  According to the Associated Press, a $690,000 verdict against a parent who accompanied cheerleaders on a trip to Hawaii should give parent chaperones pause. Susanne Sadler escorted her daughter and two other New Jersey cheerleaders to Hawaii to perform at the Hula Bowl in 2004.
  
• Suit filed challenging Utah omnibus education bill [HTML 3,225kb]
  The Davis County Clipper reports that a coalition of current and former legislators, members of the Utah State School Board, and other citizens has filed a lawsuit in the state court challenging an omnibus education bill they allege violates the Utah State Constitution provision prohibiting the legislature from passing any bill “containing more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.”
  
• Supreme Court to decide whether Title IX is exclusive remedy for sex harassment [HTML 2,868kb]
  Education Week reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee, No. 07-1125, a case that raises the question of whether Title IX provides the exclusive legal remedy for cases of sex discrimination in public schools.
  
• Questions raised over pay of Philadelphia school system lawyers [HTML 3,891kb]
  While Philadelphia School District officials continue combing their books for nearly $40 million in spending cuts needed to balance next year's budget, one group of school employees appears to be safe from the ax: lawyers.
  
• States join effort to ease school transfers of military dependents [HTML 2,677kb]
  Kansas and Kentucky are the first states to approve a compact that will make it easier for children of military families to change schools. The compact seeks to provide flexibility for the 1.5 million children of military families in the U.S.
  
• Congressional bill would increase wide range of school liabilities [HTML 7,926kb]
  U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) have introduced the proposed Civil Rights Act of 2008, which, among other provisions, seeks to undo the liability standard set in Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District and Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education.
  
• South Carolina district releases lawsuit settlement between the district and former principal [HTML 3,883kb]
  The Beaufort County School District in South Carolina has released a lawsuit settlement between the district and former principal LaVerne Davis after the state’s chief law officer said it was illegal to keep such agreements secret.
  
• St. Louis Public Schools quietly replaces its longtime lawyer [HTML 4,771kb]
  St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) has quietly replaced its longtime lawyer, Kenneth Brostron of Lashly & Baer. Kenneth Brostron shepherded the district through desegregation, labor strife, political turmoil, and countless lawsuits.
  
• Growing number of public school systems around Atlanta hire in-house counsel [HTML 4,699kb]
  As their legal matters increase in frequency and complexity, a growing number of public school systems around Atlanta have hired in-house counsel. "I think more should," says Dorsey E. Hopson II, newly named general counsel for Clayton County Public Schools.
  
• Law firm seeks nearly $1.8 million in fees from Seattle Public Schools [HTML 2,166kb]
  The law firm that represented parents in their case against Seattle Public Schools' race-based admissions policy before the U.S. Supreme Court is seeking nearly $1.8 million in fees from the school district.
  
• Parents of student who married her coach file suit against school district [HTML 1,668kb]
  Parents of a teenage student who married her 40-year-old high school cross-country coach have filed lawsuits against their school board for negligent supervision and against Guilford County Schools, where he taught previously.
  
• New York district pays $33,250 to settle suit [HTML 1,198kb]
  A New York school district has agreed to pay $33,250 to settle a lawsuit by a former student who accused an elementary school teacher of wrapping tape around his head for talking too much.
  
• School board to pay damages for failing to disclose minutes [HTML 1,062kb]
  A New Jersey state court has ordered the Pleasantville Board of Education (PBOE) to pay a newspaper $18,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees because of the board’s refusal to provide complete minutes of board meetings to the paper.
  
• Parents of disabled student handcuffed by school security file claim [HTML 1,236kb]
  The parents of Edgar Leon-Caraballo, a disabled student attending school in Huntington School District in Suffolk County, New York, have filed a notice of claim that their son’s civil rights were violated by a school security guard who handcuffed their son on the playground.
  
• Court dismisses student's suit alleging failure to report sexual abuse [HTML 1,372kb]
  A Connecticut trial court has dismissed a suit by a female student claiming school officials knew of her long term sexual relationship with her basketball coach and failed to report it.
  
• Supreme Court schedules oral arguments in BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Los Angeles v. EEOC [HTML 3,412kb]
  At issue in the case is under what circumstances an employer is liable under federal anti-discrimination laws for a subordinate's discriminatory animus, when the person who actually makes the final adverse employment decision based on the immediate supervisor’s input harbors no such discriminatory motive and is unaware of the supervisor’s animus
  
• School technology leaders should know about new rules for federal court proceedings [HTML 3,072kb]
  With more school district business being conducted online now than ever before, school technology leaders should know about new rules adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court for federal court proceedings.
  
• Former teacher files suit against Chicago Public Schools over mistaken release of Social Security numbers [HTML 2,016kb]
  A former teacher has filed a lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools (CPS), alleging that the mistaken release of more than 1,700 Social Security numbers has left him and other former employees vulnerable to identity theft.
  
• School districts in six states have been targeted with sweeping public records requests [HTML 4,527kb]
  School districts and local governments in six states have been targeted with sweeping public records requests from groups touting private property rights and limited government initiatives.
  
• Chicago Public Schools' printing contractor mistakenly mails personal information of former school employees [HTML 2,075kb]
  All Printing & Graphics Inc., a printing contractor for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), reports that it mistakenly mailed a list of names, Social Security numbers, and home addresses of approximately 1,740 former school employees in a packet of health-insurance information it sent to them.
  
• Texas district settles lawsuit by parents over false child abuse allegations [HTML 2,031kb]
  A Texas school district has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a federal lawsuit by parents who were falsely accused by a district employee of child abuse.
  
• Senate consideration of Alito not expected to highlight his views on education [HTML 4,073kb]
  Senate consideration of Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court is not expected to highlight his views on education.
  
• Former student settles sexual harassment suit [HTML 1,966kb]
  A former elementary school student has settled her sexual harassment suit against Washington's Bellevue School District for $192,500.
  
• South Carolina district has been the target of at least 40 lawsuits since 2000 [HTML 2,252kb]
  Since 2000, Richland 1 School District in South Carolina has been the target of at least 40 lawsuits, with 10 pending.
  
• President Bush has nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court [HTML 2,338kb]
  In the wake of Harriet Miers' withdrawal from consideration to replace Sandra Day O'Connor as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, President George W. Bush has nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
  
• Families of victims of the Red Lake High School shooting file notices of claims [HTML 2,010kb]
  The families of the victims of the Red Lake High School shooting have filed notices of claims in a Minneapolis federal district court.
  
• New Orleans is out of money to pay its teachers [HTML 3,298kb]
  New Orleans is out of money to pay its teachers, according Bill Roberti, a director with the restructuring firm of Alvarez & Marsal, which runs the city's school system.
  
• Hurricane Katrina displaces approximately 372,000 public and private school students in Louisiana and Mississippi [HTML 5,406kb]
  With Hurricane Katrina having displaced approximately 372,000 public and private school students in Louisiana and Mississippi, those states, along with the federal government, face the daunting task of rebuilding schools and providing educational services for displaced students until evacuees can return home.
  
• Maryland Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in age discrimination suit [HTML 2,340kb]
  The Maryland Court of Appeals has heard oral arguments in a suit involving allegations of age discrimination brought by a former employee of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.
  
• Senate confirmation hearings for Judge John A. Roberts will touch on education issues [HTML 3,222kb]
  The Senate confirmation hearings for Judge John A. Roberts Jr. are sure to draw upon tens of thousands of memoranda, letters, and articles concerning him that have been unearthed since July, including many that touch on education.
  
• The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist had a crucial role in several education cases [HTML 3,548kb]
  During his tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court, the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist played a crucial role in several education cases.
  
• Schools throughout the nation enroll students displaced by Hurricane Katrina [HTML 3,675kb]
  Schools throughout the nation are enrolling students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Experts believe this will be the largest resettlement of students in the history of the United States, with estimates that over 200,000 students will need to be relocated.
  
• Greenwich Public Schools settles bullying lawsuit [HTML 1,626kb]
  Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) in Connecticut has settled a lawsuit that alleged the district failed to act to prevent bullying of a student over a four-year period.
  
• Illinois superintendent charged with stealing over $100,000 of school district funds [HTML 2,737kb]
  A suburban Cook County, Illinois, school superintendent has been charged with stealing over $100,000 of school district funds.
  
• Copyright Office issued proposed regulations on solutions to "orphaned works" [HTML 2,105kb]
  The Copyright Office issued proposed regulations regarding whether there should be a legislative, regulatory, or other solutions to the copyright problems raised by "orphaned works."
  
• Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts, Jr. has experience with controversial issues in education [HTML 4,311kb]
  President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts, Jr., has dealt closely as an appellate advocate with some of the most controversial issues in education.
  
• Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court [HTML 1,963kb]
  Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who last week announced her retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, has exerted a strong influence in numerous decisions affecting public education over the past 24 years.
  
• Former student sues to rescind his status as a graduate [HTML 2,171kb]
  A former suburban Chicago high school student is suing to force his former high school to rescind his status as a graduate.