Priority Briefings

On March 18, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) into law.  As described in a priority briefing we issued soon after its passage (and which we recommend reviewing as a precursor to this posting), the FFCRA requires employers, including school districts and joint agreements, to provide leave under the Emergency Family […]

• Posted on: Apr 24 2020
• By: zola.support.team

The Illinois State Board of Education has issued Frequently Asked Questions for Special Education During Remote Learning at https://www.isbe.net/Documents/SPED-FAQ-04-20-20.pdf Highlights of the Guidance include: There is no waiver of IDEA or Section 504 timelines. Remote learning days count as “school days” for purposes of special education timelines that are based on school days. However, remote […]

• Posted on: Apr 21 2020
• By: zola.support.team

An important tool for school districts in fund management is due to expire on June 30, 2020.  Districts would be wise to employ that tool before then in order to maintain flexibility in the use of scarce resources and, even more important, to avoid costly tax objection refunds in the future. Section 17-2A of the […]

• Posted on: Apr 15 2020
• By: zola.support.team

On April 9, 2020, the Illinois State Board of Education issued additional new language (highlighted below) as part of its emergency rule regarding State reimbursements for payments to transportation contractors.  This action is designed to cover payments for the contractors’ employee costs and is not tied exclusively to the provision of alternative services. Due to […]

• Posted on: Apr 10 2020
• By: zola.support.team

Pursuant to Governor Pritzker’s emergency declaration and subsequent executive orders, certain requirements of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) were suspended.  As part of Executive Order 2020-7, Governor Pritzker suspended the OMA’s requirements that: (1) members of a public body must be physically present (Section 2.01); and (2) the conditions in Section 7 that limit […]

• Posted on: Apr 8 2020
• By: zola.support.team

Since our April 1, 2020, Priority Briefing on this subject, the Illinois State Board of Education has issued this new informal guidance which indicated that ISBE will reimburse districts for transportation costs under the formula of Section 29-5 of the School Code: 74. Is ISBE reimbursing expenditures for school bus transportation during the mandatory suspension […]

• Posted on: Apr 6 2020
• By: zola.support.team

On March 31, 2020, the Illinois State Board of Education issued an emergency rule on transportation expenses.  That new rule, 23 Ill Admin. Code 120.30(e), is expressly limited to allowing State reimbursement for transportation services other than the transporting of students, such as food distribution:  “Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), […]

• Posted on: Apr 1 2020
• By: zola.support.team

Although Illinois schools and joint agreements have been closed for educational purposes since March 17, 2020, students and employees may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus, or contracted COVID-19, through school-based interactions. This novel coronavirus is thought to have an incubation period of up to 14 days. Therefore, any school community member who has […]

• Posted on: Mar 31 2020
• By: zola.support.team

On March 30, 2020, the Student Privacy Policy Office of the U.S. Department of Education held a webinar to address privacy concerns regarding remote learning.  A copy of the Power Point can be accessed here: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/resources/ferpa-and-virtual-learning-during-covid-19 During the webinar, the U.S. DOE noted that: Teachers and related service providers may take home student records, and […]

• Posted on: Mar 31 2020
• By: zola.support.team

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, employers, including school districts and joint agreements, will be (or already have been) faced with employees who request sick days or leave related to COVID-19. In these ever-changing times, it is important for employers to protect their workplace and employees from COVID-19 to the best of their ability, while also […]

• Posted on: Mar 25 2020
• By: zola.support.team