Social media is one of the fastest ways to deliver information to a large group of people. Occasionally on social media, it is common to “block” people so that you do not have to see their posts and vice versa. However, when a public official blocks someone and prevents them from receiving information—is this a violation of their First Amendment rights? This November the Supreme Court must determine if public officials engaging in “state action” are constitutionally permitted to block certain parents from their social media accounts used to promote school policies and provide general information to others[1]. Depending on… read more »
Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools 2023 Annual Conference
Attorneys Taylor M. Baublitz, Daniel M. Fennick, and Liliana G. Fisher will present at the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools 2023 Annual Conference at the Wyndham Lancaster Resort and Conference Center. On October 3rd, Attorneys Fennick and Fisher will present to board members on special education administrators and the relationship between resources and admittance. On October 4th, Attorneys Baublitz and Fennick will present on special education litigation in charter schools and how issues can quickly turn litigious if not addressed properly by the school or parents. For more information on the 2023 Annual Conference, click here. Attorney Fennick serves… read more »
Landmark Victory on Behalf of Pennsylvania’s Underfunded School Districts
In a 786-page decision issued on February 7, 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional and must be reformed. The case William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education et al. was filed against the Pennsylvania Department of Education, state legislative leaders, state education officials, and the governor (collectively, the “Defendants”) in 2014 by six Pennsylvania school districts, four parents of minor children, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – Pennsylvania State Conference (collectively, the “Plaintiffs”). The Plaintiffs claimed… read more »
Understanding Charter Schools
In 1997 the Pennsylvania legislature passed the Pennsylvania Charter School Law, and charter schools were established. Forty-six states have a charter school law, and charter schools have become a major factor in public education. This article will answer some basic questions about charters. According to the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, as of the spring of 2022, there are roughly 7,700 schools and campuses serving more than 3.4 million students across the U.S. Pennsylvania has almost 200 charter schools that serve about 1 75,000 students. There are two basic structures. First, a charter school can be located in a… read more »
Updates on Student Loan Relief
*DISCLAIMER: This article is intended to share factual information and is not intended to reflect the author’s or CGA Law Firm’s stance or opinion on Student Loan Relief. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should only accept legal advice from a licensed attorney with whom you have an attorney-client relationship. On Wednesday, August 24, 2022, President Biden announced another step in his student loan forgiveness plan wherein qualified borrowers will see $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan debt cancellation. Whether… read more »
Free Speech in Schools
Post Mahanoy Update Considering disciplining a student for off-campus speech? Proceed with caution, the Supreme Court says. The Court held 8-1 in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. that because the interests of the school in regulating the particular speech in question were diminished given their content and off-campus setting, the student’s one-year suspension from the cheerleading squad was a violation of her First Amendment rights. A Limited but Significant Holding Rather than a bright-line rule prohibiting regulation of off-campus speech, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff largely based on its long-lasting precedent in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), which limits regulation on most school speech… read more »
