With high school graduation approaching, school officials should be aware of common graduation-related legal issues and recommendations for addressing them.
Diplomas and “Walking” at Graduation
The end of the school year is often accompanied by senior pranks, which may cause school officials to consider withholding a student’s diploma as a disciplinary action. Withholding an earned diploma, however, deprives an individual of a constitutionally...
Michigan law requires that public schools adopt their annual budgets before the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1). A taxing entity, including a school district or ISD, must follow a truth-in-taxation process if its anticipated operating tax revenue will exceed what it collected in the previous fiscal year (with exceptions for certain taxable additions). This process includes: (1) publishing a newspaper notice, (2) holding a truth-in-taxation public hearing, and (3) approving resolutions...
Spring is in the air! It is time to refresh, renew, and according to the Michigan Legislature, repeal and reinstate. Most notably, Public Act 10 of 2023 reinstates prevailing wage for state construction projects. PA 10 is expected to take effect in late March 2024, but is technically effective 91 days after the 2023 Legislature’s final adjournment in December. The actual date of adjournment is in the Legislature’s discretion.
PA 10 requires the payment of prevailing wage in a manner...
When school officials consider purchasing new equipment (e.g., buses, copiers, or tablets), vendors sometimes offer financing packages that use a lease purchase agreement (LPA) or other financing lease with a third-party leasing company.
LPAs are different from true leases and rental agreements. Unlike a true lease, an LPA transfers equipment ownership to the school. In exchange, the school pledges general fund dollars to make lease payments over time, which include interest that the...
The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued guidance on compensating nonexempt teleworking employees in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The new guidance is titled Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-1.
The Workday and Breaks
Per the new guidance, the workday generally...
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides schools and parents of students with disabilities administrative procedures to address special education concerns (e.g., due process hearings and state complaints). Generally, parents and students seeking relief available under the IDEA must first exhaust the IDEA’s administrative procedures before filing a federal lawsuit. In a case originating in Michigan, the U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified that the IDEA’s exhaustion...
On March 16, 2023, Governor Whitmer signed into law Public Act 6 of 2023, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act’s (ELCRA) list of protected classes. The ELCRA prohibits discrimination based on protected classes in employment, public accommodations and public services, educational facilities, housing, and real estate. This amendment becomes effective 91 days after the Legislature adjourns for the year.
This amendment...
School officials preparing to negotiate successor collective bargaining agreements should review their contracts to determine if any contract contains a “zipper clause”. As explained by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC), a zipper clause provides that the contract is the full agreement of the parties and that, while it is in effect, neither party can be required to engage in further collective bargaining regarding any matter not covered by the agreement. Such a clause avoids...
While preparing for a school bond election to finance a construction project, you may receive a proposal from an architectural or construction management firm for certain pre-bond services. Those services often include helping prepare a Michigan Department of Treasury preliminary qualification application and providing bond campaign assistance.
Many times, proposals include unwanted terms and conditions. Proposals also may include post-bond implementation services, undesirable...
The RSC’s statewide school safety information policy is amended as of March 29, 2023, to include “critical incident mapping data” in the information that a school board must provide to appropriate law enforcement agencies. The amendment states: