Category: Episodes

Episode 54 Best Practices in Managing Disruptions at School Board Meetings

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.

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

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

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?

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

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.

Episode 50 Modular Buildings: A Primer for School Districts

Episode 50 Modular Buildings: A Primer for School Districts

Host Sloan Simmons joins Lozano Smith partner Arne Sandberg to discuss modular buildings for California school districts, including the basics about modular buildings, procurement alternatives, and new legal developments impacting this area of school construction.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:24 – Modular buildings
  • 2:05 – Modular component buildings vs. modular portables
  • 4:55 – Issue of permanent vs. temporary
  • 6:10 – Modular component building examples
  • 7:15 – Popularity and cost-efficiency
  • 8:16 – Building plans (standard or unique designs)
  • 9:10 – Competitive bidding and modular buildings
  • 10:33 – Delivery methods (competitive bidding, lease-leaseback, design-build)
  • 13:30 – Architect involvement
  • 14:31 – Lease-leaseback method
  • 15:16 – Davis v. Fresno Unified School Dist. (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 261
  • 18:16 – Lease-leaseback scoring and rating system
  • 19:29 – Design-build vs. lease-leaseback
  • 21:03 – Piggybacking
  • 22:10 – Division of the State Architect (DSA)
  • 22:13 – Office of Public School Construction (OPSC)
  • 22:54 – Public Construction Code section 20118
  • 24:52 – Vendor involvement in piggybacking
  • 26:30 – Modulars and personal property
  • 26:43 – Attorney General opinion: 89 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 1 (#05-405, January 24, 2006)
  • 28:50 – Report of the Executive Officer, State Allocation Board Meeting, December 8, 2004
  • 30:55 – OPSC e-mail to school districts and county offices of education (July 2021)
  • 31:55 – Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH)
  • 33:48 – Permanent vs. temporary foundations for modular portables
  • 40:25 – Critical 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.

Episode 49 Preparing for the New Year: New Student Laws In Effect Now and in 2022 and Beyond

Episode 49 Preparing for the New Year: New Student Laws In Effect Now and in 2022 and Beyond

Host Joshua Whiteside joins Lozano Smith attorney Ruth Mendyk to discuss updates and new obligations facing educational agencies now and during the second half of the 2021-22 school year. This discussion includes a review of important legislation from the Fall 2021 legislative session.

Show Notes & References

  • 2:30 – Education Code 48205 – Excused absences
  • 2:50 – Senate Bill (SB) 14 (urgency) – Excused absences for mental or behavioral health
  • 6:46 – Assembly Bill (AB) 516 – Excused absences for cultural ceremonies and events
  • 9:13 – SB 254 – September 11th remembrance exercises and observations
  • 11:24 – AB 27 (urgency) – Website posting requirement for liaison and related homeless information
  • 12:11 – SB 400 – Housing questionnaire and rights/resources for homeless students
  • 14:26 – AB 132 – Ensure student completion of FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), alternate form, or opt-out
  • 17:25 – AB 104 – Grade change requests, student retention, and exemptions from graduation requirements
  • 20:54 – AB 101 – Ethnic studies

 

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 48 COVID-19 School Closures: Compensatory Education in the Special Education Context

Episode 48 COVID-19 School Closures: Compensatory Education in the Special Education Context

Following COVID-19 school closures during the 2019-2020 school year, many school districts are faced with making determinations regarding potential compensatory education for their special education student populations.  Host Sloan Simmons discusses the concept of compensatory education and school closures with Lozano Smith special education experts Marcy Gutierrez and Collen Villarreal, including important factors for districts to consider on this subject and the latest OAH rulings on point.

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 47 The Supreme Court Speaks: Guidelines for Regulation of Student Off-Campus Speech

Episode 47 The Supreme Court Speaks: Guidelines for Regulation of Student Off-Campus Speech

For the first time since 2007, the United States Supreme Court has weighed-in on student free speech rights under the First Amendment. In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., the high court addressed for the first time the parameters and limits for schools’ regulation of student off-campus speech. In this episode, Lozano Smith student speech experts Mike Smith and Sloan Simmons break down the Supreme Court’s decision and its implications for California school districts.

Show Notes & References

  • 1:58 – Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) 393 U.S. 503
  • 4:00 – Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) 478 U.S. 675
  • 5:58 – Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al. (1988) 484 U.S. 260
  • 8:05 – Statutory framework in Education Code (Ed. Code §§ 48907, 48950)  
  • 9:34 – Morse v. Frederick (2007) 551 U.S. 393
  • 11:58 – Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (June 23, 2021) 594 U.S. ___
  • 19:56 – School district limitations on regulating off-campus speech
  • 24:35 – Types of behavior subject to regulation under B.L.
  • 33:02 – Impact of B.L. in California
  • 39:27 – Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton (1995) 515 U.S. 646
  • 40:43 – T.V. v. Smith-Green Community School Corporation (N.D. Ind. 2011) 807 F.Supp.2d 767
  • 43:31 – J.C. ex rel. R.C. v. Beverly Hills Unified School District (C.D. Cal. 2010) 711 F.Supp.2d 1094 (Client News Brief 53 – December 2009)
  • 46:25 – Wynar v. Douglas County School Dist. (9th Cir. 2013) 728 F.3d 1062 (Client News Brief 59 – September 2013)
  • 48:48 – C.R. v. Eugene School District 4J (9th Cir., Sept. 1, 2016) 835 F.3d 1142 (Client News Brief 65 – September 2016)
  • 51:34 – Shen v. Albany Unified School District (9th Cir. 2016) 835 F.3d 1142 (Client News Brief 87 – December 2017)
  • 55:36 – McNeil v. Sherwood School District 88J (9th Cir. 2019) 918 F.3d 700 (Client News Brief 30 – June 2019)

 

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 46 California’s “Reopening” and the Future of Public Meetings Under the Brown Act

Episode 46 California’s “Reopening” and the Future of Public Meetings Under the Brown Act

With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and California’s “reopening,” host Sloan Simmons has a timely discussion with Lozano Smith Governance Co-Practice Group Leader, Anne Collins and Lozano Smith Technology and Innovation Practice Group Leader Travis Cochran regarding the state of the law and future of public meetings under the Brown Act in light of pending legislation that would continue flexibility for remote participation by local officials and the public.

Show Notes & References

  • 3:19 – The Brown Act & board member telephonic/virtual participation (Government Code section 54953(b))
  • 6:06 – California Executive Order 3-17-20 (March 2020)
  • 10:16 – California Executive Order N-08-21 (June 2021)
  • 11:32 – Masks at public meetings
  • 15:25 – Meeting posting requirements
  • 16:16 – Pending Assembly Bill (AB) 361
  • 18:24 – Pending AB 339
  • 25:11 – Public comment and participation during virtual board meetings
  • 35:05 – Virtual technology issues
  • 38:55 – Hybrid board meetings and flexible participation
  • 45:46 – Update: California Department of Public Health Face Coverings Q&A Guidance (June 15, 2021)

 

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.