Kathy Riess

School hallways, school buses, and other common areas of school building, such as cafeterias and gymnasiums, are routinely monitored by authorized surveillance cameras.  Carefully crafted board polices and administrative regulations ensure that the use of these cameras is compliant with applicable State and Federal laws.  Accordingly, they ensure the public has prior notice of recordings, provide … [Read more...] about Applying Wiretap Law and Other Implications of Unauthorized Audio Recordings In Schools

In the case of School District of Philadelphia v. Kirsch, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals offers some cautionary tales to school districts in the development of IEP’s and how costly the failure to get the process right can be. However, with some careful planning, many of the issues that arose in Kirsch can be avoided. Background of the Case Kirsch involved twins eligible for special education … [Read more...] about Recent Third Circuit Case Offers Cautionary Tale for School Districts on the IEP Process

As tragedy takes its toll at one school after another, we’ve been getting questions from education leaders about guns at school. This article summarizes the current law as it relates to an individual’s right to possess weapons, including firearms, on school property.  While a district may prohibit a person from carrying a firearm on school property, this authority is not unlimited, and an … [Read more...] about A Balancing Act of Rights and Safety: Pennsylvania Law Regarding Guns in Schools

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Wellman v. Butler Area School District, No. 15-3394 (Dec. 12, 2017), applied for one of the first times the Supreme Court’s decision in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools to find that a student’s Section 504 claims required exhaustion through administrative due process prior to filing claims in federal court. However, in so doing the Third Circuit … [Read more...] about In Its First Application of Fry, Third Circuit Takes Broad View on Exhaustion