Obtaining “qualified status” each year from the Michigan Department of Treasury is critical if your school wants to borrow money. To issue most types of debt, a school must either have: (1) prior approval or (2) qualified status. The latter saves schools both time and resources.
Prior Approval
Acquiring Treasury’s prior approval is the more costly and time-consuming option. If a school has not obtained qualified status, then school officials must...
School libraries — previously known for their quiet, studious atmosphere — are now becoming contentious, cultural hotspots.
Recently, a Michigan circuit court weighed in on a library book-ban dispute between Parents and Taxpayers Against Pornography (the “Organization”) and Rockford Public Schools (the “District”). Parents and Taxpayers Against Pornography in Rockford Public Schools v Rockford Public Schools, Case No. 23-08510-AW, opinion and order of the 17th Circuit Court...
Parental support is a vital component of high school athletics, but it can also present schools with unique challenges. In McElhaney v Williams, one parent’s overzealous advocacy turned into controversy.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose decisions are binding in Michigan, recently held that a parent’s criticism of coaching decisions was protected speech under the First Amendment. McElhaney v Williams, Case No. 22-5903 (CA 6, 2023). This decision reminds...
Thrun Law Firm has recently experienced an uptick in transgender student questions. We are also monitoring pending Michigan litigation and Office for Civil Rights complaints filed against schools for their approaches to accommodating transgender students.
Conflicting court decisions and varying guidance from state and federal agencies render this topic complex. Below is general guidance on three frequent questions we receive from clients regarding transgender students.
Every year school officials confront the quandary of what schools can do to celebrate the holidays without running afoul of the Constitution. School celebrations — whether musical performances, decorative displays, or curricular activities — often involve religious content that implicates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Under the Establishment Clause, the government (including public schools) may not endorse or promote religion.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck...
On October 10, 2023, Governor Whitmer signed into law with immediate effect Public Act 147 of 2023, which amends the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement Act (MPSER) to allow certain retirees to continue to receive their retirement allowance and subsidy for health care benefits when returning to work for a “reporting unit” (i.e., a public school district, ISD, or public school academy) sooner than previously permitted. This change will remain in place for five years after its...
RSC Section 1613 allows a school district or ISD to authorize local taxing jurisdictions to levy half or all school taxes on July 1 by filing a summer tax resolution with the local taxing jurisdictions. If your school currently has a summer tax levy and would like it to continue in 2024, your school’s board of education must adopt a resolution and file a copy of it with each city and township within your school’s boundaries on or before December 31, 2023.
The December 31 deadline is...
As previously announced in School Law Notes articles and E-Blasts, schools nationwide have been joining a lawsuit against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and other social media platforms. The lawsuit asserts that those social media platforms targeted minors to maximize profits, despite knowing the severe detrimental effects of excessive social media use by minors.
The deadline to join the lawsuit is December 29, 2023. To date, over 100 Michigan...
Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require a school to provide students with disabilities access to all programs and activities the school offers. Often, school officials erroneously believe that programs or activities offered outside the academic school day are exempt from these requirements. They are not. Although schools are not required to provide programs or activities outside the school day, those that do...
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) decision that “overage compensation” for virtual class teachers did not implicate the “pilot program” or the “use of technology” prohibited bargaining subjects under the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA). Van Buren Educ Ass’n v Van Buren Pub Schs, COA Docket No. 362076 (Aug. 24, 2023). While recently passed legislation will repeal many PERA prohibited bargaining subjects, these two...