Episode 59 Student Legislative Update 2023



This episode provides school administrators with the latest legislative changes and developments regarding student matters with Lozano Smith and Student Practice Group leaders Ruth Mendyk and Joshua Whiteside, along with Fresno attorney Nisha Dale.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:23 – Governor’s Executive Order: End of State of Emergency (February 28, 2023)
  • 2:29 –Student threats and firearms (SB 906) (Client News Brief 41 – August 2022)
  • 7:09 – Excused absence for civic or political event (SB 955) (Education Code section 48205)
  • 9:50 – Homeless youth (Client News Brief 4 – January 2023)
  • 10:21 – McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
  • 11:10 – New requirements for districts regarding homeless students (AB 2375)
  • 11:41 – CDE Model Housing Questionnaire
  • 12:07 – Updates to homeless youth policies (AB 408)
  • 15:00 – COVID-19 testing plan (SB 1479)
  • 16:40 – MOUs with non-profits for eye exams (AB 2329)
  • 19:05 – Including students on LCAP Parent Advisory Committees (SB 997) (Client News Brief 9 – February 2023)
  • 21:16 – Graduation dress code and the First Amendment (Waln v. Dysart School District (9th Cir. 2022) 54 F.4th 1152) (Client News Brief 6 – January 2023)

 

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Michelle Cannon and Kendra Tovey

Episode 58 Reflections on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District After Half a School Year



The United States Supreme Court’s June 2022 Opinion in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District marked a potential sea change for the considerations school districts must account for in relation to employee private religious expression in the school context, whether as a matter of constitutional free speech rights vs. regulation of employee speech, free exercise of religion, or the Establishment Clause.  With the benefit of several months and almost half a school year to consider the impacts and ramifications of Kennedy, host Sloan Simmons talks with Michelle Cannon and Kendra Tovey on their understanding of Kennedy’s immediate and anticipated potential impacts, as well as options and challenges for school districts looking ahead.

Show Notes & References

 

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Megan Macy and Courtney de Groof

Episode 57 State Board of Education Considers First Charter School Petition Appeals Post AB-1505



As discussed in Episode 56, there were three pending charter school petition appeals to the State Board of Education (SBE) following denial by the respective LEAs. These were the first three charter petition appeals subject to the new appeal processes since Assembly Bill 1505 became effective in 2020.  In this Lozano Smith Podcast episode, host Sloan Simmons engages with Megan Macy and Courtney de Groof to follow up and discuss the outcomes of these petition appeals and what to anticipate going forward.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:51 – AB 1505 and appeals to the State Board of Education (SBE)
  • 3:39 – Standards of review
  • 4:50 – Recent local educational agency (LEA) appeals
  • 7:23 – Advisory Committee on Charter Schools (ACCS)
  • 9:08 – Summary denial process
  • 9:59 – Fiscal impact basis of denial (Education code section 47605 (c) (8))
  • 11:41 – Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT)
  • 13:00 – Procedural issues related to public hearings
  • 14:31 – Community interest standard of denial (Education code section 47605 (c) (7))
  • 16:39 – Determining charter authorizers
  • 19:01 – Appeals going forward

 

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Episode 56 Hot Topics Regarding Charter Schools Coming Out of the Pandemic



Effective 2019, significant legal changes were enacted regarding charter schools in California.  The anticipated effects and implementation of those changes, however, were stunted by the COVID-19 outbreak.  In this Lozano Smith Podcast episode, host Sloan Simmons engages with Lozano Smith Charter Practice Group Co-Leaders, Ed Sklar and Erin Hamor, to discuss the current state of affairs for charter schools and their authorizers, hot topics and trends in the charter school field, and what to anticipate going forward as California’s LEAs return to normal operation.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:14 – A look back at 2019
  • 1:26 – Assembly Bill (AB) 1505 (Client News Brief 49 – October 2019)
  • 3:52 – Current state (Client News Brief 18 – August 2021)
  • 4:34 – Status of proposed regulations post AB 1505
  • 6:29 – Restart of charter renewal process
  • 9:12 – Renewal petitions and issue fixing
  • 10:29 – AB 1505 and the State Board of Education (SBE)
  • 10:45 – Appeals to charter petition denials
  • 11:57 – “Abuse of discretion” standard of review
  • 12:18 – Takeaways from appeals
  • 17:59 – Pending legislation

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Lauri Arrowsmith and Kaitlyn M. Tucker

Episode 55 Special Education – Private Schools and Alternatives to Public School Placements



In the wake of COVID-19, many families have experienced or explored new ways for their children to receive education.  Lozano Smith attorneys Lauri Arrowsmith and Kaitlyn Tucker will examine the recent trend of more parents seeking alternative placements for their children with disabilities and how educational agencies should handle such requests, including those seeking placement at a private or home school.  This episode will also address recent case law in the past year which provides meaningful directives on this issue.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:43 – Trends in placement requests
  • 3:28 – Obtaining private placement
  • 4:42 – 10-day unilateral placement notice
  • 5:49 – Changes to plans and individual services plans (ISPs)
  • 6:36 – Capistrano v. S.W. 80 IDELR 31 (9th Cir. 2021)
  • 11:02 – Homeschooling
  • 12:48 – Independent study and students with disabilities
  • 13:12 – E. E. v. California (N.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2021) (N.D. Cal. Feb. 28, 2022) Slip Copy. 2022 WL 597035
  • 14:38 – Independent study vs. home hospital
  • 16:09 – Potential issues
  • 18:30 – Best practices and takeaways

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Headshots of Roman and Chelsea

Episode 54 Best Practices in Managing Disruptions at School Board Meetings



Managing school board meetings in the face of disruption created by parents, employees, and members of the public can be challenging.  This podcast will explore best practices to regulate this disruption and create rules and de-escalation techniques to ensure an orderly meeting.  To explore this timely topic, co-host Joshua Whiteside introduces a discussion on point between local governance experts and Lozano Smith partners, Roman Muñoz from the Sacramento office and Chelsea Olson Murphy from the San Luis Obispo office.

Show Notes & References

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Headshots of James Sanchez and Ryan Tung

Episode 53 Elections and the California Voting Rights Act – How and Why it Works, and “Post-Transition” Best Practices



Hosts Sloan Simmons joins veteran municipal practitioner James Sanchez and Governance Practice Group Co-Chair Ryan Tung to discuss the election process and the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), including the legal requirements and practical impacts of the CVRA, as well as best practices for California public entities following the transition from at-large to trustee area elections.

Show Notes & References

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Episode 51 (Part 2) Student Vaccines and Student Masks – Late February 2022 Developments



Hosts Joshua Whiteside and Sloan Simmons are back to discuss the latest litigation development related to a school district’s student COVID-19 vaccination mandate and the rapidly changing guidance and directives related to student and staff mask requirements, including CDPH’s recent announcement that face masks are no longer legally required indoors at K-12 schools after March 11, 2022.

Show Notes & References

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Episode 52 Personnel Actions and the March 15th Deadline – Are You Ready?



Host Sloan Simmons joins partners and Lozano Smith Labor and Employment Co-Practice Group Leaders Michelle Cannon and Gabriela Flowers to discuss several important school district labor and employment deadlines that fall on March 15.  This brief but information packed episode includes discussion on various types of release from employment as well as layoffs.  Additionally, this year, for the first time ever, classified layoffs are subject to the same deadline.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:13 – Non-reelection of second year probationary certificated employees
  • 2:10 – March 15th deadlines
  • 3:28 – First year probationary employees
  • 3:34 – Education Code section 44929.21
  • 4:21 – Release and reassignment notices for administrators (Ed. Code section 44951)
  • 7:20 – Certificated layoff process
  • 8:49 – Ed. code sections 44955 and 44949
  • 9:00 – Bumping rights
  • 10:00 – Chronology of layoffs
  • 14:35 – Classified layoff process
  • 16:53 – Bumping language and collective bargaining agreements (CBAs)
  • 17:53 – Definition of permanency for classified employee layoffs
  • 18:40 – AB 438 impacts
  • 21:48 – CBAs and classified layoffs

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.


Episode 51 (Part 1) Student Vaccines and Student Masks – Latest Developments



Host Joshua Whiteside joins Lozano Smith partner Sloan Simmons to discuss the present status of student COVID-19 vaccination and student masks requirements, including the status of State directives on point and the results of litigation in these areas.

Show Notes & References

 

Lozano Smith’s COVID-19 Resources can be found here.

For more information on the topics discussed in this podcast, please visit our website at: www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.