News from Thrun Law

As the school year winds down, we remind school officials of Revised School Code (RSC) Section 1236 and how it affects a substitute teacher’s rights to continued employment, compensation, and fringe benefits. The Michigan Court of Appeals has interpreted “substitute teacher” to mean, for purposes of Section 1236, a teacher who serves in place of a regular teacher. This interpretation does not apply to a substitute teacher retained through a third-party contractor.

Under...

Michigan schools are entering a new era of digital accessibility. The Department of Justice recently issued a final rule (Rule) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) setting technical accessibility standards for school websites and mobile applications. Understanding the Rule’s requirements is the first step toward compliance.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Generally, the Rule requires web content and mobile apps provided or made...

To avoid an unintended contract extension or acquired tenure status, school officials must follow statutory timelines and procedures to non-renew a probationary teacher’s contract.

Probationary Period

Following the recent Teachers’ Tenure Act amendments, teachers acquire tenure when they have: (1) received an “effective” or “highly effective” evaluation rating on three performance evaluations, including their most recent evaluation; and (2) completed...

Have you ever finished a ten-minute phone call with a parent, and, before you can even grab a cup of coffee, a 1,000-word follow-up email hits your inbox, perfectly formatted and filled with legal citations? If so, you have likely experienced the onslaught of AI-assisted advocacy.

From threatening emails to robotic-sounding complaints and overly broad FOIA requests, parents, advocates, and community members are using AI more frequently to communicate with school officials. To assist...