A number of significant new laws were enacted in 2021, which impact school and community college districts in California. Below is a summary of each new law, many of which impose new legal duties. Feel free to contact our office with any questions or for further information. AB 27 (Homeless ...
We invite you to join the attorneys of Parker & Covert LLP next week at the 2022 California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO) Annual Conference! After several years absence, the CASBO Conference will return to the newly renovated Sacramento Convention Center. Attorney Addison C...
California revises COVID-19 masking mandate in schools effective March 11, 2022
Every two years the State Allocation Board (“SAB”) adjusts the amount of developer fees. On February 23, 2022, the SAB increased Level I Developer Fees to $4.79 for residential construction and $0.78 for commercial/industrial construction. Level I Developer Fee Increased: At the State Allocat...
We invite you to join the attorneys of Parker & Covert LLP next week at the 43rd Annual California's Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH) Conference on School Facilities! After several years in Southern California, the CASH Conference will return to the newly renovated Sacramento Conven...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in Crofts v. Issaquah School District that the District had not violated the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) in a case challenging the District's evaluation for special education eligibility and its individualized education ...
The California Court of Appeal recently determined that substantial compliance is necessary when rejecting a government claim for damages. Treasure Andrews sued MTS after being injured on an MTS bus. Andrews served a government claim for damages. MTS served a notice of rejection pursuant to ...
On January 25, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Brown v. State of Arizona that a university is not liable under Title IX for student-on-student abuse unless it exercises substantial control over the harasser and the context in which the known harassment occurs, explaining in de...
On December 9, 2021, the California Department of Education announced the annual adjustment to the bid threshold for competitive contracts awarded by school districts. Public Contract Code section 20111(a) requires school districts to competitively bid contracts involving an expenditure of more ...
On November 12, 2021, San Diego Superior Court Judge Cynthia A. Freeland dismissed a lawsuit brought by two parent groups, Let Them Breathe and Reopen California Schools (“Plaintiffs”), challenging California's K-12 mask mandate. The dismissed lawsuit challenged the mask mandate contained...
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding employee COVID-19 vaccination and testing. The ETS applies to all employers that employ 100 or more employees, both private and public employers (with limited e...
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves low-cost or free lunches to nearly 30 million children every school day. The NSLP was established by President Harry Truman in 1946. President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week (NSLW) in 1962 to promote the importance of a health...
On September 23, 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 169, the higher education budget trailer bill. SB 169 includes the creation of a new, three-year state student housing program – the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program (“Program”) – designed to provide one-time grants for the const...
On October 1, 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students ages 12 and older. This makes California the first state in the nation to require students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for in-person instruction. Similar mandates from the state's largest dist...
The California Court of Appeal in Sierra Watch v. Placer County, et. al (Aug. 24, 2021, No. C087892) recently held that under the Ralph M. Brown Act, a memorandum placed in the county clerk's office is not “available for public inspection” at a time when the clerk's office is closed. In Sierra W...
Fall Welcomes New Changes As most schools are back in person for the fall, this year will bring continued and additional changes for many of our clients. Parker & Covert welcomes many changes this fall as well. Attorney Stacy L. Toledo has been promoted to partner. Stacy will continu...
Assembly Bill 841 authorized the California Energy Commission to design, administer, and implement the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program (CalSHAPE). The CalSHAPE Plumbing Program provides grants to local educational agencies to replace noncompliant plumbing fixtures...
On August 24, 2021, the United States Department of Education's (“Department”) Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (“OSERS”) issued a letter acknowledging that children with disabilities and their families have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic compared to the...
As schools and colleges prepare to open their campuses for the coming school and academic year, mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies are being implemented with increasing frequency. These policies are prompted not only by an increase in COVID-19 cases across California, specifically due to the...
The United States Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Notice of Interpretation on June 16, 2021 to make clear that the Department interprets Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the...
Because of the breadth of records that can be requested and the right of the public to inspect records, PRA requests can be challenging to respond to in an organized and efficient manner. Included in this post are three tips to make the process more straightforward, organized, and efficient, producing a better result for both the requester and the public entity.
The summer before the fourth grade, I went on a family trip and became very sick. This required me to miss the first three months of the fourth grade. My parents were very concerned about my health. I, on the other hand, cared more about the possibility of repeating the fourth grade. Thankfully, ...
I did not speak a word of English when I arrived in the United States from Cuba in November 1980. I was eight years old, in the fourth grade, and completely frustrated by my inability to communicate. School had always been very important to me and something I really loved, but no longer. Thing...
The U.S. Department of Education announced a new funding opportunity for Community Colleges. The Supplemental Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education (SAIHE) program supports institutions of higher education (IHEs) with unmet needs related to recovery from disruptions in the finances, da...
Parker and Covert LLP, through its Northern and Southern California offices, provides comprehensive legal representation to school districts, community colleges, and other educational clients in communities throughout the state of California.