News & Resources

As noted in our March 2016 Client Alert, as part of Massachusetts’ Omnibus Substance Abuse Legislation, there were several action items for schools. One of those action items was the requirement that all public schools must file their policies regarding substance use and prevention and educating students about the dangers of substance abuse with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”). According to Commissioner Mitchell Chester’s September 16, 2016 Weekly Update, by October 28, 2016 all public schools (including charter schools and vocational-technical schools) must accomplish the following:

On May 13, 2016, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a Dear Colleague Letter reinforcing their prior interpretation that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and its implementing regulations prohibit discrimination based on a student’s gender identity, including discrimination based on a student’s transgender status.  OCR and the DOJ informed school districts that as a condition of receiving Federal funds, a school district must adhere to the Dear Colleague Letter.

On March 14, 2016, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law House Bill, No. 4056, “An Act relative to substance use, treatment, education and prevention” (“the Act”).  Several sections of the Act, which directly impact public schools, are summarized within.

On January 1, 2016, the revised regulations on physical restraint in public education programs, 603 CMR 46.00, will become effective.  On November 19, 2015, In anticipation of new requirements under these regulations, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) posted a new, electronic Restraint Reporting Form designed to log individual instances of restraint and track program restraint data on a linked spreadsheet.

In a decision in favor of the Weston Public Schools, the Supreme Judicial Court found that settlement agreements between a public school and parents of students who require special education services are exempt from the definition of public records under both the statutory and privacy exemptions to the public records law. This decision vacates a prior decision from the Superior Court.

On approximately July 31, 2015, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) published additional guidance on the implementation of physical restraint and time-out under the revised regulations at 603 CMR 46.00 et seq. Although the revised regulations are not effective until January 1, 2016, DESE has indicated that schools are strongly encouraged to begin working towards implementation in the fall of the 2015-2016 school year.