On May 13, 2016 the United States Department of Justice and United States Department of Education- Office of Civil Rights issues a Dear Colleague Letter ('DCL') to school officials nationwide on the topic of transgender students and compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The … [Read more...]
Legal News Blog
Child Abuse Reporting Under Act 60.
October 2, 2015 by
The Department for Children and Families now has a mandatory reporters webpage, describing reporting requirements and procedures as of July 1, 2015, when the new abuse reporting law (Act 60) became effective. The webpage answers frequently asked questions about how and when to report and reporting … [Read more...]
Service Animals and the ADA
July 14, 2015 by
On July 13, 2015 the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a nine page technical assistance FAQ - Service Animals and the ADA to help assist covered entities like schools and municipalities in understanding how the service animal provisions of the regulations apply to them. The FAQ is a follow up to … [Read more...]
U.S. Supreme Rules Against Municipality in Cell Tower Dispute
April 3, 2015 by
The Supreme Court recently ruled against a Georgia municipality for failing to provide a timely written decision explaining its reasoning in denying a cell phone tower siting application by T-Mobile, South, LLC (“T-Mobile”). The City of Roswell’s city council held a public hearing to consider an … [Read more...]
SP&F Assists Vermont State Colleges in CCV-Winooski Campus Acquisition
April 3, 2015 by
On March 26, 2015, SP&Fattorneys Robert E. Fletcher and David W. Rugh, working on behalf of Vermont State Colleges, assisted in closing the Colleges’ roughly $2.5 million purchase of its Community College of Vermont – Winooski Campus property. The property at 1 Abenaki Way was formerly comprised of … [Read more...]
FMLA Amended Definition of Spouse to Include Same Sex Spouses
February 27, 2015 by
On February 25, 2015 the DOL issued a final rule amending the definition of spouse under the rules implementing FMLA to be consistent with the US Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor which struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)as unconstitutional. The amended … [Read more...]
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Questioning Constitutionality of Municipal Sign Ordinance
December 23, 2014 by
The Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments on January 12, 2015 in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, a case raising the question of whether an Arizona municipality’s sign ordinance creates an unconstitutional distinction among different kinds of speech. The Supreme Court’s consideration of … [Read more...]
SP&F Assists Jeffersonville in Floodplain Protection Property Acquisition
December 8, 2014 by
On September 29th, SP&Fattorneys, working on behalf of the Village of Jeffersonville, closed on the Village’s purchase of a 4.2-acre, more or less, parcel of land lying at the southwesterly corner of the intersection of Vermont Routes 15 and 108. The highly visible property sits within a portion of … [Read more...]
DOE and DOJ Guidance on Education for Confined Juvenile Students
December 8, 2014 by
On December 8, 2014, the United States Department of Education and the Department of Justice issued a four part set of guidance for assisting both state and local educational agencies in addressing and strengthening the educational services provided to students in juvenile facilities. The … [Read more...]
Education Law Session Vermont Principals’ Association- January 13, 2015
December 1, 2014 by
On January 13, 2015 Steve Stitzel and Dina Atwood will be presenting: Current Issues in Labor and Personnel Law: a Workshop for Public School Administrators and Legislative Update for the Vermont Principals' Association. The workshop is designed to help school administrators, human resource … [Read more...]