WCT E-Newsletter (January-March 2010)

QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER January – March 2010 LEGAL UPDATESMarch 2010  A new Senate Bill, SB 3266, would add strict new requirements regarding school districts bullying policy. The bill provides for a new definition of bullying, a requirement for school districts to adopt a comprehensive policy on bullying (including procedures for reporting, investigations of incidents, and timelines the district must follow in resolving complaints of bullying), and a requirement that school districts maintain data and submit it to the ISBE regarding bullying complaints.  A new House Bill, HB 4886, was sent to the House for consideration, providing that a district could implement an alternative school calendar, instituting a 4-day school week. The proposed calendar would require approval by the Illinois State Board of Education and the local regional superintendent of school.  A new Senate Bill, SB 1946, changes the provisions of the state pension system for new teacher hires. The bill would: calculate the final average salary for pension purposes using the highest 8 of 10 consecutive years (instead of 4 of the last 10 years), increase the age for full pension benefits to 67 years old, allow for retirement at 62 with lower retirement annuity, limit the annual average salary for pensionable purposes at $106,800, reduce the survivor annuity in certain circumstances and reduce the cost of living adjustment.February 2010  A British medical journal, the Lancet, formally retracted a 1998 article linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to Autism. In the retraction, the Lancet stated "We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between (the) vaccine and autism, as the data were insufficient. However the possibility of such a link was raised, and consequent events have had major implications for public health. In view of this, we consider now is the appropriate time that we should together formally retract the interpretation placed upon these findings in the paper, according to precedent."  A new House Bill, HB 4672, is introduced requiring school principals to attend in- service workshops regarding the warning signs of suicidal behaviors in teenagers and suicide prevention.  A new house bill introduced, HB 5132, would require DCFS to investigate reports of abuse or neglect of a student with disabilities as it would reports of abuse or neglect of a child. The definition of "student with disabilities" includes a public school student between the ages of 18-21 who is identified as having multiple disabilities and who has an IEP.

January 2010  Illinois new FOIA law goes into effect, requiring school boards to designate one or more officials/employees to act as formal Freedom of Information Officers. Other changes to the law include shortening the response time from 7 business days to 5 business days, prohibiting public bodies from charging the requestor for the first 50 pages, requiring a detailed factual basis for the denial of any request, removing the exemption of personnel records and personal employee information from the act, and imposing mandatory attorneys fees and fines to any public body which the court determines willfully and intentionally failed to comply with a FOIA.  The governor signed into law a new Public Act (PA 96-0861, effective January 15, 2010) which will require that teacher and principal evaluations use student growth as part of the evaluation criteria. RECENT PUBLICATIONS Sexting FBA/BIP Caselaw Update Psychiatric Hospitalizations, Lockouts and DCFS: Questions and Answers Compensatory Education: An Update Based on Recent Decisional Case Law UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS Date Title/Topic Organization 4/21/10 "Navigating the IEP Maze” Help and Hope for Children with Special Needs 4/21/10 "Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Continuing Education Partner, Special Education Law Update" Inc. 4/28/10 “Autism Training” Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy This e-newsletter is provided as a courtesy only. For the most up to date and additional information, please visit Whitted Cleary & Takiff’s website at www.wct-law.com. Please also note that the information you obtain from this e-newsletter and our website is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney foradvice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.

WCT E-Newsletter (January-March 2010)

by Whitted, Cleary & Takiff, LLC

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics