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Susan Q Yin, Unsplash

Understanding how courts interpret school policies is essential for today’s educational leaders, especially as issues involving gender identity continue to evolve.

A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, offers important guidance for school districts navigating the balance between protecting students and respecting the personal beliefs of staff. This blog post breaks down what the Polk decision means for your district and offers practical steps to help ensure your policies remain both legally sound and supportive of all students.

Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools sets a…
Continue Reading When Faith and Policy Collide: Fourth Circuit Upholds School District’s Gender Identity Guidelines Over Teacher’s Religious Objections

On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) voted 2-1 to rescind its “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” which had been approved in 2024. In a statement, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas contended that the 2024 Guidance overstepped the agency’s authority by imposing new obligations on employers rather than simply interpreting existing law. Lucas emphasized, however, that “rescinding this guidance does not give employers license to engage in unlawful harassment,” and that the EEOC “will continue to be dedicated to preventing and remedying unlawful workplace harassment.”The 2024 GuidanceThe 2024 Guidance incorporated significant court rulings and legislative…
Continue Reading EEOC Rescinds Harassment Guidance, But Schools’ Obligations Remain

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Kenny Eliason, Unsplash

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order #14280 (EO 14280), “Reinstating Commonsense School Discipline Policies.” This order directs the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Attorney General to issue new guidance on school discipline and move away from the disparate impact framework that the Obama and Biden administrations had applied.

However, nearly a year after EO #14280, no such guidance has been published. Data on federal investigations into school disciplinary procedures since the executive order will not be available until at least 2027, but it is likely that the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the…
Continue Reading Changes in Federal Policy Addressing Student Discipline

The enactment of Section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code—part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21)—is one of the most significant developments in education-related tax policy in a generation. Building on decades of state-level tax credit scholarship programs, Congress has established a federal framework that channels private philanthropic capital into K-12 scholarships through a new qualifying vehicle: the Scholarship Granting Organization (“SGO”). For schools, charities, and foundations invested in educational access, the moment calls for informed strategic planning.What Section 25F CreatesSection 25F establishes a federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 per taxpayer per year for…
Continue Reading A New Federal Framework for Education Philanthropy: What Tax-Exempt Organizations Need to Know About Section 25F

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Kenny Eliason, Unsplash

Since early 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”), under Secretary Linda McMahon, has implemented several significant policy changes affecting K-12 education. For example, the Department has taken steps to expand support for private, religious, and charter schools, while also shifting its approach to civil rights enforcement and federal funding guidance.

Support for Charter and Private Schools

The Department has increased federal investment in charter schools and signaled greater support for private educational options.

The Charter Schools Program (CSP) is a federal initiative that provides grants to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of charter schools across the country.
Continue Reading Recent Developments in Federal Oversight and Funding for K-12 Education

In recent years, a handful of high-profile legal challenges have emerged in response to state laws requiring the display of religious texts in public school classrooms, particularly in conservative states. Both Texas and Louisiana have enacted legislation mandating that public schools prominently display the Ten Commandments, prompting lawsuits from parents and advocacy groups who argue that such measures violate the First Amendment. While courts have expressed skepticism toward state-sponsored religious displays in schools, ongoing litigation means the future of these laws—and the separation of church and state in public education—remains uncertain.

Texas: Ringer v. Comal Independent School District

In…
Continue Reading The Classroom Commandments: Courts Confront Legal Challenges to Mandatory Religious Displays in Schools

Numerous school districts across the United States still operate under desegregation orders originally implemented in the decades following the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which held that racially segregated school districts were unconstitutional. 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Achieving unitary status marks the point at which a formerly racially segregated school system is deemed to have dismantled de jure segregation and, therefore, may be released from federal court supervision. Generally, school districts operating under desegregation orders not only must comply with the specific requirements set forth in those orders but also have an “affirmative duty to take…
Continue Reading Some Recent Motions for Unitary Status Seem to Be Facing Less Careful Scrutiny

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has ceased investigating claims based solely on alleged disparate impact discrimination. Traditionally, disparate impact discrimination claims could be proven when a seemingly neutral employment policy or practice disproportionately affected members of a protected class—such as race, gender, or age—even if there was no evidence of an intent to discriminate.

This change, announced in an internal memo and effective as of September 30, 2025, follows President Trump’s April 2025 executive order abandoning the use of disparate impact as a legal theory in federal discrimination cases. Nearly all employees who might have asserted federal…
Continue Reading Disparate Impact No Longer Federal Policy

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Susan Q Yin, Unsplash

On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) approved Iowa’s “Returning Education to the States Waiver,” making Iowa the first state to receive such approval. This waiver frees Iowa from several requirements related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) and thereby give it greater flexibility in how it uses certain federal education funds.Background: July 29, 2025 Dear Colleague LetterOn July 29, 2025, the Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to the chief school officers of each state, along with an accompanying press release. The letter began by noting, “[T]he…
Continue Reading Iowa Every Student Succeeds Act Waiver Approved by U.S. Department of Education

The legal landscape for transgender rights in the United States continues to evolve rapidly, with the U.S. Supreme Court (the “Court”) and federal courts issuing pivotal decisions. The past year has seen high-profile cases on access to gender-affirming care, participation in school sports, restroom policies, and the intersection of First Amendment rights with issues of gender identity. These cases have resulted in a patchwork of rulings and left many legal questions unresolved, with significant implications for students, educators, and families nationwide.

Supreme Court Action

Last June, in United States v. Skrmetti, the Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming…
Continue Reading Transgender Rights in the Courts: A Year of Landmark Decisions and Pending Questions

The Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) recently released revised guidance on physical restraint, time out, and isolated time out (“RTO”) in schools. The Permanent Regulations for the Use of Isolated Time Out, Time Out, and Physical Restraint: FAQ were finalized in November 2025, replacing the prior guidance from ISBE, which had been removed over one year ago. The updated guidance incorporates language from the 2024 RTO regulatory amendments and contains frequently asked questions on important RTO topics, such as required administrative policy, parent notification, training and more. The updated guidance also contains several key changes, some of which are…
Continue Reading ISBE Releases Revised RTO Guidance

The answer is very important.
Once the school district believes your child is not a legal resident, it will send a letter advising you of your right to request a hearing. The hearing will take place before a hearing officer. At that hearing, the family has the burden of proof to show that the student legitimately lives in the school district.
At the hearing, it is critical to put on as much credible evidence of the child’s residency as possible. There are certainly some very conscientious and unbiased hearing officers. But there are some who will not give any benefit…
Continue Reading How Important is the School Residency Hearing?

A collection of books. A little time. A lot of learning.
Kimberly Farmer, Unsplash

Fifty years ago, millions of children with disabilities were excluded from public education. Today, how far have we come—and where do we go next?

On November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) into law. As we observe fifty years of special education law in the United States, it is a time to reflect on the impact, the trends, and the future of special education. Now, more than twenty years after the IDEA’s last reauthorization, special education is again undergoing changes.

Coming soon after the enactment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation…
Continue Reading Fifty Years of IDEA

You have an unconventional living situation, but you and your child really are residents of a given school district. The school district, however, thinks you really live somewhere else. Now, you have received a letter claiming you owe thousands of dollars in school tuition and that your child must leave the district.
Upon receiving the letter, you are best advised to contact an attorney knowledgeable in school residency law. There are many landmines that unwitting parents can step on. For example, there are deadlines for requesting a hearing and submitting evidence. And the fact that you pay taxes in a…
Continue Reading HOW A VIDEO CAN HELP IN A SCHOOL RESIDENCY HEARING

Government employees are afforded a variety of protections to allow them to perform their jobs without being subject to civil liabilities. Prosecutorial immunity mirrors the immunity afforded to judges, which protects prosecutors who are acting within the scope of their official duties from civil liability, even if such acts are malicious. The primary public policy argument in favor of absolute prosecutorial immunity is to allow prosecutors to focus on their public duties and exercise independent judgment in initiating cases without concern for harassment or intimidation by unsatisfied litigants.

A recent Illinois appellate case tests the extent of prosecutorial immunity. In…
Continue Reading How Absolute is Prosecutorial Immunity?

You were pretty close to graduating, until your school suddenly claimed that you violated their student conduct policy. Maybe the college is accusing you of plagiarism or of cheating on an exam. Or maybe your violation involves a problem in student housing or a criminal offense.
Generally, if you’re accused of a student conduct offense, your college or university will have a procedure consisting of various levels. Often, this procedure includes a hearing. Depending on the university, you may or may not be allowed to have an attorney at the hearing. Or the attorney may attend the hearing, but the…
Continue Reading HOW AN ATTORNEY CAN HELP YOUR COLLEGE DISCIPLINE CASE