On April 5, 2017, the State Education Department (“SED”) updated its guidance regarding session days, the school calendar, and the reporting of attendance data for State Aid purposes. While the update does not substantively change existing guidance, it appears to convey an intent to strictly enfo...
On February 27, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and SED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia issued a joint press release highlighting their new guidance letter concerning the rights of undocumented students. The guidance letter, available here http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/fi...
On Wednesday, February 22, 2017, The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter that withdrew two prior statements of policy and guidance regarding a school district's obligations towards transgender students. In response, the ...
Managing Partner Gregory Guercio will be a panel member at NSBA's 2017 COSA School Law Seminar in Denver, Colorado on March 23, 2017. The panel will be speaking on Labor and Collective Bargaining, 50 Years of Collective Bargaining in the Schools: History, Trends, and Practical Applications for th...
Managing Partner Gregory Guercio will be a panel member at NSBA's 2017 COSA School Law Seminar in Denver, Colorado on March 23, 2017. The panel will be speaking on Labor and Collective Bargaining, 50 Years of Collective Bargaining in the Schools: History, Trends, and Practical Applications for th...
On December 31, 2016, the Governor signed into law a bill that amends the Education Law, in relation to requiring notice of reserve funds and reserves funded by resolution and to require that each school district post on its website, if any, a final annual budget and any multi-year financial plan...
Partners Richard Guercio and Gary Steffanetta will be co-presenters for a Webinar sponsored by the New York State Association of School Attorneys (NYSASA) on February 8, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. entitled Ethics for School Attorneys / The School Lawyer's Ethical Obligations to Properly Navigate the Relat...
Partners Richard Guercio and Gary Steffanetta will be co-presenters for a Webinar sponsored by the New York State Association of School Attorneys (NYSASA) on February 8, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. entitled Ethics for School Attorneys / The School Lawyer's Ethical Obligations to Properly Navigate the Relat...
In December 2015, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (“McKinney-Vento”) was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”). ESSA made several changes to McKinney-Vento including new requirements for school districts that took effect on October 1, 2016. These changes are intended ...
Recently, New York Real Property Tax Law (“RPTL”) Section 458-b was amended to authorize school districts to grant certain partial tax exemptions from school district real property taxes for Cold War veterans and certain qualifying family members. Guercio & Guercio, LLP clients may view full memo...
On October 18, 2016, associate Anthony Fasano participated in a panel discussion for the Nassau County Bar Association's Education Law Committee. The panel members discussed the issues that frequently arise when request for student records are made from the family court on school districts.
Partners Richard Guercio and Gary Steffanetta will present at NYSSBA's Annual Convention in Buffalo, New York on the subject of teacher and principal probation and tenure. The presentation will be given to school board members, superintendents, and other educational leaders from across the state....
Partners Randy Glasser and Bonnie Gorham and Associate Ashley Pope will present to school administrators, teachers, pupil personnel staff, and attorneys on creating legally compliant Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans as part of a 2-day seminar (December 6-7, 2016/9:00...
Associate Ashley Pope will present to the Nassau County Bar Association's Education Law Committee on new developments in Affordable Care Act Compliance, November 15, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. at the Nassau County Bar Association, 15 West Street, Mineola, N.Y. 11501.
On September 6, 2016, Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill passed by the State Legislature in June requiring school districts and BOCES to periodically test the drinking water in their occupied school buildings for lead contamination and report the results (Ch. 296 of the Laws of 2016, which add...
Effective July 27, 2016, the Board of Regents amended 8 NYCRR § 100.2(ee) regarding the manner in which students in grades 3-8 are chosen to receive Academic Intervention Services (AIS). The procedures for students in grades K-2 and 9-12 remain unchanged. The amendments provide for a two-step pro...
Associate Anthony J. Fasano authored an article entitled, “Navigating the Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction” for the July-August 2016 issue of the Nassau Lawyer publication. Nassau Lawyer July August
On July 9, 2016, associate Ashley Pope presented to current teachers enrolled in The College of St. Rose's Center for Integrated Teacher Education (CITE) Program for educational leadership and administration on “Knowing When to Contact the School District's Attorney.” Topics covered included stud...
The New York State Education Department (“SED”) has revised the Procedural Safeguards Notice (“Notice”) for parents of students with disabilities (ages 3-21). According to SED, school districts must use the revised Notice, dated June 2016, effective immediately. Guercio & Guercio clients may vie...
The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule (the “Final Rule”) updating the regulations implementing the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), which will automatically extend overtime pay eligibility to over 4 million workers effective December 1, 2016. The FLSA requires tha...
Before concluding the 2016 legislative session on June 18, 2016, State lawmakers passed a bill requiring public school districts and BOCES to periodically test the drinking water in their occupied school buildings for lead contamination and report the results. The State Departments of Health and ...
As you will recall, a contentious issue has remained unresolved regarding the “legality” of district contract provisions that provided compensation to employees who decline health insurance coverage offered through NYSHIP (Empire Plan). On May 15, 2012, NYSHIP adopted Rule 122r3 prohibiting munic...
Partner Erin O'Grady-Parent authored an article entitled “When Disputes Arise in School Districts, Who Decides” for the February edition of the New York State School Boards Association's publication, On Board. Click To View
On May 13, 2016, the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice jointly issued a Dear Colleague Letter on their interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and its impleme...
This week, the Board of Regents (“Regents”) adopted yet another set of changes to the regulations implementing the Annual Professional Performance Review (“APPR”) of classroom teachers and building principals. At the Regents meeting, the regulatory amendments were described as “technical” change...
