by Jennifer Childress | Aug 14, 2019 | Legal Developments
As part of an effort to address the safety and security of students in Texas public schools, the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 11, which includes provisions requiring new curriculum for students, kindergarten through grade 12, in the area of mental health and...
by Jennifer Childress | Aug 7, 2019 | Legal Developments
The Texas Legislature set student safety as a priority this legislative session. House Bill 1387, for example, amended Texas Education Code §37.0811(a), allowing the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to...
by Jennifer Childress | Jul 31, 2019 | Bullying, Legal Developments
Senate Bill 38, enacted by the Texas Legislature this session, expands the scope and definition of hazing. Texas Education Code § 37.152 makes it unlawful to (1) engage in hazing; (2) solicit, encourage, direct, aid, or attempt to aid another in engaging in hazing;...
by Jennifer Childress | Jul 23, 2019 | Legal Developments
Joann Howard, a former second grade teacher at a Louisiana elementary school, provided school officials a physician’s statement that diagnosed her with major depressive illness and anxiety disorders. The school board approved a medical sabbatical leave for the fall...
by Jennifer Childress | Jul 17, 2019 | Legal Developments
In I. L. v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 18-20113, 2019 WL 2591696 (5th Cir. June 24, 2019), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the pretrial dismissal of a peer harassment Title IX case brought against the Houston Independent School District (“HISD”). I.L....
by Jennifer Childress | Jun 25, 2019 | Legal Developments
A new law went into effect recently that prohibits the use of certain aversive techniques on students enrolled in public schools. The law (H.B. No. 3630, Section 37.0023 to Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code) defines “aversive technique” as “a...
