Where is the line between free speech and sexual harassment? Students at public schools have both the right to free speech and expression, and the right to educational environments free of discrimination and harassment. At times, these rights can seem to run headlong into each other. When one student says…

If you or your child is accused of engaging in academic misconduct, you’ll get a crash course in how the college or university bureaucracy works to process these cases and sanction students. Before that happens–and to prevent that from happening–it is important to understand a few key points about academic…

This week, the Appeals Court decided a case examining how students can bring claims under Chapter 151C, the Fair Educational Practices law.   In Doe 99 v. Cheffi et al., a former public high school student who alleged she had been sexually abused by a teacher sued the City of Chelsea…

Last week, the SJC decided City of Newton v. Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, a case considering what an employee must show to make out a prima facie case of retaliation under the Massachusetts public employee collective bargaining law. The week before, the MCAD decided MCAD and Nom v. Acton Auto…

Since 2012, Massachusetts laws have prohibited discrimination based on gender identity, including in education. The Massachusetts Department of Education has had longstanding guidance in place instructing schools to use students’ preferred names and pronouns while at school. This week, in Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, the First Circuit Court of…

Youth sports are a huge part of the American education system, something many parents, schools, and communities place a high value on maintaining. Studies demonstrate the many mental, social, emotional, and physical benefits children derive from participating in organized athletics. In fact, during Trump’s previous presidency the President’s Council on…

In the last month, actions by the courts, the President, and Congress have significantly impacted and may further change how Title IX is enforced across the country. Title IX: Background and Enforcement Title IX is a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. It is one of the shortest laws…

In 2014 voters in the Commonwealth approved a ballot measure that created the  Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (G.L.c. 149 § 148C) (MESTL), which guarantees most Massachusetts workers up to 40 hours of earned sick time per year. Last month the coverage of the law expanded to cover physical and…

Yesterday, the First Circuit issued its decision in L.M. v. Middleborough et al., a case we discussed previously on this blog. The case concerned whether a public middle school could prohibit a student from wearing a t-shirt that said “There are only two genders.” The district court had held that…

Two weeks ago the First Circuit heard oral argument in a case that touches on some of the most hot-button issues in education law: student speech rights and discrimination against LGBTQ students. In L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, the Court must decide whether the Middleborough public schools could tell a…