Board Policy Archives - Education Lawyers

April 27, 2020 By LeasorCrass

Now They Tell Us: Authority to Regulate Public Comments

by Mike Leasor

On April 22, 2020, the Attorney General provided additional guidance on the implementation of Texas Government Code §551.007. This section went into effect on September 1, 2019 and the sections addressed in the Opinion state:

A governmental body shall allow each member of the public who desires to address the body regarding an item on an agenda for an open meeting of the body to address the body regarding the item at the meeting before or during the body’s consideration of the item.
A governmental body may adopt reasonable rules regarding the public’s right to address the body under this section, including rules that limit the total amount of time that a member of the public may address the body on a given item.

The first question presented was whether §551.007(b) permits a district to hold one public comment period at the beginning of an open meeting to address all agenda items, or instead, whether §551.007(b) requires a district to hold separate public comment periods immediately before each agenda item. The Attorney General opined that the plain language of section (b) allows the district to choose when the public forum to discuss agenda items may take place. It states further that the public forum is not required to be adjacent to the agenda item. Thus, a single public comment period at the beginning of an open meeting to address all items on the agenda is acceptable under this section of the statute.

As most districts have already interpreted subsection (b) to mean the above, it is the second question presented that provides the new insight. In the second question addressed in the Opinion, it is asked whether §551.007 permits a district to limit the total amount of time it gives a speaker to address all desired agenda items. What subsection (b) giveth, subsection (c) taketh away. This subsection allows a district to provide reasonable rules for the public forum.

In the Opinion, the Attorney General states that a district may not only cap the amount of time an individual has to speak, but may put a reasonable cap on the speaker if he/she chooses to address all agenda items. In effect, if there is a five minute cap on a speaker to speak about one agenda item, and there are eight agenda items to speak on, the district may limit the total time a speaker speaks instead of having to provide a full 40 minutes, but only to a reasonable period of time based on “the number of agenda items and their complexity.” Thus, this additional limitation on a speaker’s ability to dominate an evening has been somewhat clipped by the Attorney General.

If you should have additional questions regarding this specific provision or any other Open Meetings Act provision, please do not hesitate to contact any of the attorneys at Leasor Crass, P.C.

April 27, 2020 By LeasorCrass

COVID-19 UPDATE

Below are today’s updates regarding COVID-19 and its impact on Texas public schools. For additional resources, please visit our COVID-19 page.

TEA Special Education and Special Populations Updates for the Week of April 20, 2020
Dean Micknal, Partner

The Texas Education Agency reorganized its COVID-19 Support: Special Education webpage last week. The revised site, which can be accessed here, now includes a direct link to the COVID19 Special Education Q&A, as well as links to four areas dedicated to:

Please click here to continue reading.

Now They Tell Us: Authority to Regulate Public Comments
Mike Leasor, Shareholder

A governmental body shall allow each member of the public who desires to address the body regarding an item on an agenda for an open meeting of the body to address the body regarding the item at the meeting before or during the body’s consideration of the item.
A governmental body may adopt reasonable rules regarding the public’s right to address the body under this section, including rules that limit the total amount of time that a member of the public may address the body on a given item.

Please click here to continue reading.

Class of 2020: Waiving Graduation Requirements
Victoria Elliott, Associate

In the wake of COVID-19, many questions have arisen regarding graduation for the 2020 senior class. During these times, it is important to remember that certain specific assessment graduation requirements may be satisfied via an individual graduation committee (“IGC”) review, including:

Seniors who were enrolled in the district or charter school during the 2019–2020 school year may graduate via an IGC determination, regardless of the number of EOC exams they still need to pass.
In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.0258, students must successfully complete the curriculum requirements for high school graduation as identified in Title 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 74, Subchapter B. Districts and charter schools must determine if a student has met all other graduation requirements under TEC, §28.025(c), including successful completion of all curriculum requirements or an individualized education program.

Please click here to continue reading.

Planning for the Future
Rhonda Crass, Shareholder

As we look at virtual learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, it brings many new issues to the forefront regarding what it will take to open for the 2020-2021 school year. In our practice each day, issues being discussed include the need for guidelines aimed at summer trips for staff and students; guidelines and legal parameters for social distancing when school resumes; employment issues under the new leave statutes; and, what to do with those students or teachers who are placed in quarantine for exposure to COVID-19 and can no longer attend school.

As other topics arise, we are here to assist you in preparing for the 2020-2021 school year with answers, training for staff, and guidance for specific programs.

April 21, 2020 By LeasorCrass

How Does Your District Calculate FMLA Leave? You May Want to Make a Policy Change

We know that two new Family Medical Leave Act laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic went into effect on April 1, 2020, as follows:

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) which extends Family and Medical Leave; and
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) which provides for emergency paid sick leave for absences.

These new provisions of the law are only effective for the limited time period of April 1 to December 31, 2020.

So, if you have employees who qualify for these special provisions, be sure to apply them and provide your employees with these additional benefits.

However, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, please don’t forget the Family Medical Leave Act basics. We recommend that you review your District’s Board Policy DEC (LOCAL), Leaves and Absences. It contains the language that establishes how your District calculates an employee’s entitlement to 12 weeks of FMLA leave.

There are four different ways to calculate FMLA leave:

(1) the calendar year – 12-month period that runs from January 1 through December 31;

(2) any fixed 12-months – 12-month period such as a fiscal year (for example, October 1 through September 30), a year starting on an employee’s anniversary date (for example, September 22 through September 21), or a 12-month period required by state law;

(3) the 12-month period measured forward – 12-month period measured forward from the first date an employee takes FMLA leave. The next 12-month period would begin the first time FMLA leave is taken after completion of the prior 12-month period; or

(4) a “rolling” 12-month period measured backward – 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave. Under the ‘‘rolling’’ 12-month period, each time an employee takes FMLA leave, the remaining leave entitlement would be the balance of the 12 weeks which has not been used during the immediately preceding 12 months.

The “rolling” (also called the “look-back”) option provides the most protection for your District. If you have questions about FMLA leave, how to change the way your District calculates FMLA leave, or any other personnel benefit questions, please contact any of our attorneys for assistance.

April 21, 2020 By LeasorCrass

COVID-19 UPDATE

Below are today’s updates regarding COVID-19 and its impact on Texas public schools. For additional resources, please visit our COVID-19 page.

TEA Special Education and Special Populations Updates for the Week of April 13, 2020
Dean Micknal, Partner

The Texas Education Agency has continued to post and revise guidance regarding Special Education and Special Populations during the previous week.

The revisions have included updating the general COVID19 Special Education Q&A to:

Emphasize that the requirement to continue services to students identified and receiving services for dyslexia is ongoing and remind districts that there are currently no state or federal requirements that preclude the provision of dyslexia services to students in a virtual environment due to the Governor having waived restrictions related to teletherapy for dyslexia therapists holding licensure through the Texas Department of Licensure and Regulation; and,
Clarify that the SHARS parental consent and annual notice mandates have not been changed so as to allow a previous provided consent to bill Medicaid to suffice for purposes of telehealth services.

In addition to updating the Q&A, the Agency posted new guidance on progress monitoring, managing challenging behaviors for both parents and LEAs, counseling (both as a related service, and remote counseling and student support services), and Occupational, Physical and Speech Language Therapy.

Finally, with respect to Special Populations, TEA significantly revised the existing English Learner FAQ, identified a statewide webinar to be available through TEHCY to address how to support students and families experiencing homelessness during COVID-19, and posted new guidance on Pregnancy Related Services and Gifted/Talented Education.

How Does Your District Calculate FMLA Leave? You May Want to Make a Policy Change
Heather Castillo, Partner

We know that two new Family Medical Leave Act laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic went into effect on April 1, 2020, as follows:

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) which extends Family and Medical Leave; and
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) which provides for emergency paid sick leave for absences.

These new provisions of the law are only effective for the limited time period of April 1 to December 31, 2020.

Please click here to continue reading.

Schools to Stay Closed for 2019-2020: TEA Rules Concerning Use of School Buildings by Teachers and Staff
Holly James, Senior Associate

On April 17, 2020, Governor Abbott ordered all schools to remain closed “to in-person classroom attendance by students” for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Teachers and staff are encouraged to continue to work remotely from home if possible, but are now permitted to “return to schools to conduct remote video instruction, as well as perform administrative duties, under the strict terms required by the Texas Education Agency.”

Please click here to continue reading.

April 13, 2020 By LeasorCrass

COVID-19 UPDATE

Below are today’s updates regarding COVID-19 and its impact on Texas public schools. For additional resources, please visit our COVID-19 page.

Documenting Temporary SPED Services
Dean Micknal, Partner; Victoria Elliott, Associate

During the current pandemic, public school districts have an ongoing obligation to provide FAPE to students with disabilities. Therefore, district personnel need to attempt to continue to follow IEPs and 504 plans to the best of their ability, while giving primary consideration to health and safety.

Due to the constraints imposed by these health and safety considerations, it is essential that districts continue taking data and documenting the accommodations and services that are being provided to students with disabilities. This documentation will be crucial once school resumes, as districts will need to hold 504 meetings and ARDs to determine whether and to what extent compensatory services are needed to address any skills that may have been lost because of the closure.

TEA has released and continues to update guidance specifically related to COVID-19 and Special Education on their website.

Additionally, TEA has recently developed and released draft forms and guidance for documenting the provision of temporary services that may be helpful in tracking this crucial component of responding in these unprecedented times.

Delegation of Authority to Superintendent
Rhonda Crass, Shareholder

Were you given authority as a Superintendent via a resolution to perform certain functions that were typically designated to the Board of Trustees? If so, how are you keeping track of the actions that were delegated to you? Leasor Crass has developed a unique system that matches the resolutions passed by your Board to ensure that there is documentation of your actions during this time of crisis. For more information, please reach out to our staff at Leasor Crass.

NSBA Legislative Call to Action Regarding Special Education Services During COVID-19: Send this letter to Congress!
Dean Micknal, Partner; Victoria Elliott, Associate

The National School Board Association (“NSBA”) has issued a “Legislative Call-To-Action” encouraging members to contact congressional representatives to consider measures that will provide flexibility and funding related to providing services to students with disabilities during the current pandemic. As mentioned in the Call to Action, a key concern that many of our colleagues have identified is the challenge of attempting to implement IEP and/or Section 504 mandated services during the extended shutdown. While districts are working to approximate these services to the greatest extent allowable, the inflexibility of the existing federal legal framework has and will continue to result in an ongoing crisis of noncompliance which will need to be addressed once normal school functions resume. Districts may find the scope of dealing with this eventuality positively crippling unless legislative action is taken to provide flexibility and funds.

A copy of the NSBA’s Legislative Call to Action is available here. More information about NSBA’s legislative efforts and resources related to their COVID-19 response is available online via the NSBA’s website.

Board Policy Suspension Regarding Grading, Class Rank & Related Matters
Rhonda Crass, Shareholder

If you have not already done so, we recommend that clients, at the next board meeting, adopt a resolution to temporarily suspend local board policies related to student grading, class rank, and related matters. The Commissioner has given broad discretion to districts regarding these issues. After this resolution is adopted, please do not forget to provide notice to parents regarding any changes.

Identifying Essential School-District Services Under Latest Texas Executive Order
Holly James, Senior Associate

State and local governments across the nation have applied varying approaches to address the question of what constitutes an essential business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 19, 2020, Governor Abbott issued Executive Order GA-08, banning social gatherings in groups of more than ten people. The March 19th Order stated that government entities and businesses would continue providing “essential services” but did not define what services were deemed to be essential.

On March 28, 2020, in an effort to assist state and local governments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Critical Infrastructure Security Agency issued its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, Version 2.0 (“CISA Guidance”), which provides an advisory list of critical-infrastructure sectors, workers, and functions that should continue during the COVID-19 response. The next day, based on the advice of medical experts, President Trump announced that restrictive social distancing guidelines should extend through April 30, 2020.

Please click here to continue reading.

LEASOR CRASS, P.C.

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