Education Law

Public service attorneys win important victory in Dept of Ed loan-forgiveness lawsuit

When the U.S. Department of Education changed its interpretation of Public Service Loan Forgiveness regulation, it did not adhere to notice standards mandated under the Administrative Procedure Act, and those changes were arbitrary and capricious, a federal court found Friday.

Feb 24, 2019 9:00 AM CST

3 female Yale students who protested against Kavanaugh sue school’s fraternities for discrimination

A lawsuit filed Tuesday by three female students against Yale University and its nine off-campus fraternities alleges that policies allowing only male fraternity members amount to gender discrimination. The three undergraduate students say they were sexually harassed and groped at fraternity parties, and Yale fosters the hostile environment by allowing…

Feb 13, 2019 12:18 PM CST

Wrongly released documents in student’s drowning death show lifeguard ignored warnings

A lifeguard ignored warnings by three students before discovery of a body at the bottom of a school swimming pool in Chicago, according to documents approved for release by a Chicago judge last week. Judge Peter Flynn of Cook County had initially banned publication of the documents in the 2017…

Feb 11, 2019 10:56 AM CST

In praying football coach case, 4 SCOTUS justices criticize 9th Circuit’s ‘highly tendentious’ reading of precedent

Four Supreme Court justices on Tuesday expressed concern about an appellate court’s views on teachers’ religious rights in the case of a praying football coach. The justices said in a statement they agreed with the decision to deny certiorari because of unresolved factual questions in the case of Joseph A.…

Jan 22, 2019 12:09 PM CST

Judge rules school, sheriff’s office had ‘no legal duty’ to protect students in mass shooting

A federal judge in Miami has dismissed a lawsuit filed by 15 students present during the Valentine’s Day shooting at their school in Parkland, Florida. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ruled last week that school and sheriff’s officials had “no legal duty” to protect the students, report the Sun Sentinel,…

Dec 18, 2018 12:34 PM CST

Fraternities, sororities sue Harvard, saying penalizing those in single-sex clubs violates Title IX

A group of fraternities and sororities filed a federal lawsuit Monday that challenges Harvard University’s recent policy prohibiting students who belong to unrecognized single-gender organizations from holding campus leadership positions or competing for some post-graduate scholarships and fellowships.

Dec 3, 2018 3:49 PM CST

Education Department announces new rules on handling campus sexual assault

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has released new guidance for how colleges and universities should handle sexual assault and harassment.

Nov 16, 2018 2:51 PM CST

DeVos’ attempt to curtail debt forgiveness to defrauded students meets judicial roadblocks

In rulings by two federal judges this week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos encountered some roadblocks in her efforts to roll back relief for some defrauded student borrowers who seek to cancel federal student loans. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Sallie Kim certified a nationwide class action by 110,000 former…

Oct 17, 2018 9:30 AM CDT

Lawsuits target law reviews at Harvard and NYU, saying they favor women and minorities

A Texas group filed two suits over the weekend alleging that two prominent law reviews violate federal laws by giving preferences to women and minorities when selecting some of their members and choosing articles for publication. The suits (here and here) target the Harvard Law Review and the New York University…

Oct 10, 2018 3:15 PM CDT

Are free speech and academic freedom under assault at colleges and universities?

Many see the case of Teresa Buchanan at Louisiana State University as emblematic of the precarious state of academic freedom for college and university professors. Others view the case as an example of the perils of applying a categorical rule to limit professorial speech.

Oct 1, 2018 1:40 AM CDT

House of Delegates urges end to mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment claims

After a year in which sexual harassment in the workplace has taken center stage, the ABA House of Delegates voted to urge legal employers not to require mandatory arbitration of such claims.

Oct 1, 2018 12:50 AM CDT

Students can challenge Education Department over loan forgiveness, judge rules

A U.S. district court has found that two graduates of a Massachusetts for-profit college have standing to challenge the U.S. Department of Education’s recent decision to delay implementation of the borrower defense regulation, which shifts loan repayment responsibility from the student to the school if it’s found that the school…

Sep 21, 2018 2:18 PM CDT

Group in Harvard admissions case wants to show how school used to discriminate against Jews

In a federal lawsuit challenging Harvard University’s admission policies toward Asian-Americans, plaintiffs are seeking to introduce evidence about how the Ivy League school discriminated against Jewish applicants in the early 20th century.

Sep 20, 2018 6:02 AM CDT

Justice Department intervenes in support of Asian-American students suing Harvard

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit alleging that Harvard College discriminates against Asian-Americans with its affirmative action policy. The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and the Harvard Crimson have stories.

Sep 4, 2018 9:15 AM CDT

Judge weighs contempt after paper publishes redacted information about alleged school shooter

A judge in Broward County, Florida, is considering a motion to hold the South Florida Sun Sentinel and two of its reporters in contempt of court for publishing redacted information that was uncovered by copying and pasting blacked-out online type into a new file. Judge Elizabeth Scherer said Wednesday that…

Aug 16, 2018 1:11 PM CDT