Recall Rights for Honorably Dismissed Teachers in Grouping 2
Public Act 098-0648 gives limited recall rights to honorably dismissed teachers placed in Grouping 2 who have one "needs improvement" rating.
Annual Workshop Moved to Spring 2015
Due to a number of conflicts in the fall this year, the Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Miller, Ltd. Annual Legal Update and Firm Seminar will be held in the spring. Watch your email for an invitation in the coming weeks.
Update on Pension Reform
On July 3, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that health care for retired state workers is a pension benefit protected by a state constitutional provision prohibiting the diminishment or impairment of those benefits. In Kanerva v. Weems the court held 6-to-1 that under the Illinois State Constitution's Pension Clause, any benefit of an Illinois retirement system "cannot be diminished or impaired," with no exceptions for health benefits.
Illinois Appellate Court Overturns Board's Dismissal of Tenured Teacher on Due Process Grounds
The First District Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth Division, recently decided a case where a tenured teacher claimed that her 14th Amendment due process rights had been violated when she was dismissed after 20+ years of service with only hearsay evidence to support the charges against her. Courts have long held that tenured employment is a protected property interest and therefore cannot be removed without sufficient process. Bd. Of Ed. Cmty. Consol. Sch.
New Bullying & Cyber-Bullying Legislation in Illinois
Two new pieces of legislation were passed in Illinois this summer that are expanding the responsibilities of school districts as they relate to bullying inside and outside of the education setting.
Rich Township High School - Employee Free Speech Case
In December 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision balancing the First Amendment rights of a school counselor against the public school district's interest in providing effective counseling services - deciding that the school's interest in providing effective counseling outweighed the First Amendment rights of the employee.
Board of Education of City of Chicago v. IELRB - Student Records / Labor Relations
In a December 2013 decision, the First District Appellate Court of Illinois limited a union's ability to request information about students as a part of the duty to bargain in good faith. Educational employers' statutory duty to bargain in good faith includes an obligation on the part of the employer to provide the union with information upon request.
Federal Discipline Guidance
On January 8, the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education issued new guidance on the obligations of elementary and secondary schools to administer student discipline without discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
United States Supreme Court Rules on Prayer at Public Meetings
On May 5, 2014 the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion in Town of Greece v.
Workshop Materials Now Online
Workshop materials for the Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Miller, Ltd. Annual Firm Seminar and Legal Workshop are now posted online. Find them HERE.