NYS Education Law & Policy

Finding Those NYS Bill Jackets

2012-02-07T20:15:00.001-08:00

Click here for information about the New York State Library's Bill Jacket Holdings and their digital collection.

Lexis Nexis Academic: How to find regs and statutes. It's pretty easy...

2012-02-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

Just choose the right area under US LEGAL on the menu, then make sure you look up the law number following the examples provided.

Make sure you are looking in the right place (Federal v. state)

Make sure you select the right check box for whether you are looking for a law or a regulation

Choose "citation" from the pull-down menu next to where you type in the law or reg

Follow the examples below for the proper format!!!

Begin your search in Lexis Nexis Academic. Select “US Legal” from the menu at left of your screen
To Find….
NYS Consolidated Laws
Select State Statutes, Codes & Regulations from the left menu. Choose “statutory Code” from the bottom check boxes. Then
….type in “NY CLS EDUC” in Citation. A section [“sec. XX”] is optional

NYCRR
Again choose State Statutes, Codes & Regulations. This time, check the box marked “administrative” at the bottom. Then type in “8 NYCRR” in Citation. A section [“sec. XX”] is optional.

CFR
Choose “US Legal…Federal Statutes, Codes & Regulations…” and type in “34 CFR” in Citation. For a fuller citation, just use the numbers: 34 CFR 300.320 for example. DO NOT USE "sec" for CFR!
Public Laws by their PL Number
Again select Federal Statutes, Codes & Regulations. Type in “xx P.L. xx” for that public law e.g. 107-110 should be typed “107 P.L. 110” in Citation
US code
Again select Federal Statutes, Codes & Regulations. Type “20 uscs” in Citation. [sec. is optional] E.g., “20 uscs sec. 81”

Race to the Top Case Study

2012-02-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or Public Law 111-5
The House Bill (HR 1 or 2009)
34 CFR Subtitle B, Chapter II -- How the application points system works
Recovery act website at ed.gov

Education Law 3641 is about grants in aid.
Education law 3012 -c is about teacher annual reviews
S. 7991, A. 11171 was signed into law 05/28/10 and became chapter 103 of 2010 NY Laws
Search the NYS Register for "teacher Evaluations" or "performance reviews". What do you find?
The Bill Jacket for Chapter 103 of 2010

8 NYCRR 30 - 2 is the section of regulations for Annual professional performance reviews.
Search the NYS Board of Regents website for "annual performance reviews." Can you trace the conversation prior to amendmants to 8 NYCRR 100.2 and the implementation of 30 - 2?

NYS United Teachers et al v. NYS Board of Regents, 33 Misc. 3d 989; 929 N.Y.S.2d 699; 2011 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4187; 2011 NY Slip Op 21299, decided August 24, 2011
Assembly Bill A07642 is a bill to repeal and alter some of the earlier legislation
Open [NYS] Senate: Find Bills Hearing Transcripts and more

NYC Department of Education Leaders

2011-09-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

To update the "Cathie Black Matter" case study that we discussed earlier, here is the current list of leaders at NYC Department of Education, courtesy of the NY Times.

John B. King Jr. is the new NYS Commissioner of Education

2011-09-07T10:51:00.001-07:00

Here is an article on his appointment from the Legislative Gazette

2011-06-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

A recent NY Times Op ed piece talked about the outcomes of the GOOD NEWS CLUB et al. v. MILFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL US Supreme Court decision 533 U.S. 98

Chapters, etc. I have good news....

2011-02-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

A question came up recently whether NYS unchapterd laws -- that is, laws in their original form, not consolidated -- were available online. The answer is yes, at the same website where you can look up bills and other legislative materials.

http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi

From that site, click CHAPTERS and use the search tool. Just limit to "chapter number" and fill it in, along with the year. AND don't forget to click the box marked "text" to see the complete text of the act.

Don't know one or the other? There's a keyword search tool. Or Google the name of the act to discover its chapter number and year, then return and try again.

"Past Practice"

2011-02-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

While "past practice" has a definition under the law, it is not a term found in most law dictionaries. It actually comes from Labor: the US Office of Personnel Management
(http://www.opm.gov/lmr/glossary/glossaryp.asp) defines it as

"Existing practices sanctioned by use and acceptance, that are not specifically included in the collective bargaining agreement. Arbitrators use evidence of past practices to interpret ambiguous contract language. In addition, past practices can be enforced under the negotiated grievance procedure because they are considered part of the agreement. ..." Follow the OPM link above to see other definitions and context from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (http://www.flra.gov), where you can search for more information, including decisions involving unions and corporations that may be relevant to your idea.

So Why wouldn't LexisNexis help you much?? As I said, "Past Practice" is a term used most often in labor, especially in contracts and negotiations. Many labor negotiations, arbitrations and other disputes are resolved by independent or governmental boards, rather than the courts. So while you may find a few case decisions on Past Practice, you'd find much more looking at unions', negotiators', and arbitrators' websites. Here are a few to try, all of which allow you to search for decisions relating to labor negotiations (they are not court cases!)

* The National Labor Relations Board [http://www.nlrb.gov/]
* The NYS Public Employees Review Board [http://www.perb.state.ny.us/]
* United Federation of Teachers [http://www.uft.org] Note: Some "members only" portions of this site
* National Education Association [http://www.nea.org]
* AFSCME [http://www.afscme.org]

The NYS Commissioner of Education's Decisions, which contain some uses of the term in context, may be valuable, though the Commissioner is not empowered to hear certain labor matters. Still, it's worth a visit, and you can search for the term there. If you're in the Ed Law class at New Paltz this semester, you'll search the Decisions often. They're found at
http://www.counsel.nysed.gov

The Cathie Black Matter

2011-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

Shael polakow suransky

hakeem jeffries

Dennis Walcott

Here is the scratch-pad for what's transpired so far. Here, we're deliberately ignoring the media attention, the blogs, etc., in order to focus on the laws, regulations, precedents and filings.

1. The filings: The Eric Snyder Petition, the Hakeem Jeffries Petition. And what's an Article 78 proceeding, anyway?

2. The Commissioner's Waiver Decision

3. NYS Consolidated Laws Education Law sec. 3003. Pay close attention to subsections (1) to (3)

4. The Commissioner of Education's Regulations (8 NYCRR) 80 - 3.10 (b). Browsing? You'll find under Chapter ii, subchapter 3: Teachers...requirements.

5. 8 NYCRR 52.21 (c)(3), which regulates School District Leadership Curricula. Is Ms. Black Qualified?

6. Matter of the Application of the Mayor of the City of New York and Klein, 2002.

7. What are the City of NY Chancellor's duties anyhow? To whom does she report? It's Education Law 2590-h

NYS statutes in Lexis Nexis Academic

2010-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

FAQ "How do I find NYS statutes...you know, from the McKinney's Black Books, AKA the Consolidated Laws of New York State, in Lexis Nexis Academic?"

A: Once you sign into LNA, select US LEGAL, then
State Statutes, Codes & Regulations. Choose New York from the search box menu, then....

If you have a specific citation, preface the section number with "NY CLS [the law heading] sec. [the number]"

Seem complicated? It's not, really. Example: if you're looking for "education law 3020-a" type in -- with the quotes: "ny cls educ. sec. 3020-a"

Looking for Mental Hygiene Law section 9.09? Type in NY CLS Men Hyg § 9.09.

If you do a keyword search instead, you an limit results to NYS laws (as opposed to the NYCRR regulations) by clicking "Statutory Codes" to the left of the results.

NYCRR is In LEXIS NEXIS!!

2010-08-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

You can now find the New York Codes, rules & Regulations in Lexis Nexis Academic! Oce you're signed in to LNA:
Go to US LEGAL, and Choose
State Statutes, Codes & Regulations, then choose New York
To search by citation, type "8 nycrr sec. [the section and subsection]"
EXAMPLE (yes, with quotes): "8 nycrr sec. 80- 1.3"
THEN: click all the Source boxes (administrative codes, statutory codes, etc.)

YOU can also search by Keyword! From your results -- which should include NYS statutes as well as regulations -- click "Regulatory codes" from the left-side menu. Voila! NYCRR regulations!

Supreme Court Dockets Or What Is That Number?

2010-03-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

A student writes "I need to find this Supreme Court case...I was given the names of the parties and a number with a dash in the middle. What is that number, and how do I find the decision?"

The number is a Supreme Court Docket Number, the first part of which is the year the case was placed on the docket with the Court, and the second is essentially the case number. It's a case number, not a decision number, really. In principle, it is possible for decisions to be rendered in a different sequence than their docket numbers.

This SCOTUS site explains docket numbers and lets you search for case names and decisions by docket numbers, too.

What to do in Lexis Nexis: the best thing to do is to look by the parties e.g., Locke v. Karass, rather than trying to search them with the docket number (07-610) too.

The only way I'm aware of to search by docket number in Lexis Nexis Academic is to do a US Federal & State Cases search and look for the docket number as a keyword. Limit your search to the court (e.g., US Supreme Court) to avoid a lot of noise. Not nearly as efficient as searching by citation or parties, but it can be done!

Just for fun, try in the SCOTUS Docket Search, then in Google, then in LexisNexis...

Fitzgerald v. Barnstable 07-1125
Locke v. Karass 07-610

Anyone near Otsego County have Education Department Reports?

2010-02-11T07:41:00.001-08:00

According to the SUNY Union Catalog, SUNY's Oneonta and Binghamton have the Judicial Decisions of the Commissioner of Education.

Supreme Court Docket?

2010-02-11T07:09:00.000-08:00

A student asks "How do I find out what cases are about to appear before the US Supreme Court, or other courts?"

Good Question. You know that only decisions (not motions or calendars or court dockets) are in Lexis Nexis Academic. And not every court has an updated, online calendar (in some cases, a rip to the local county courthouse is the only way to go.) But here is a short list of tools you might find useful.

The Supreme Court Docket is the SCOTUS official tracking system. You can search by keywords that might appear in the filing (e.g., "education" "school") but there is no subject access. So try different words. And notice that some of the filings have already been decided!
The NYS Unified Court System's eCourts tool lets you view pending cases in the NYS legal system.
Justia's docket search tool enables you to search for pending FEDERAL cases that are being heard in NYS and elsewhere. NOTE: At this time, you can only search by party names (e.g., "school district" as a litigant)
the Southern District of NY (federal) PACER search: register (free) and search the court calendar and more

Practice ed Law Research Paper

2010-01-15T07:46:00.001-08:00

Let's start with an interesting article in the NEA Today. Mary Ellen Flannery, "Address Unknown:
How do you assign homework to a kid without a home?" The article talks about homeless students, and, among other things, school districts and residency. It also mentions the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, known also as the "McKinney Act."

Let's Google the Act. We know that the word "Act" should indicate a federal statutory law. Turns out it was originally PL 100-77, and Reauthorized as part of NCLB, as PL107-110, 115 STAT 1989
Let's look in the index of our School Law textbook to find if the Act is mentioned and how it's been applied. Turns out, there's a section of the text devoted to homeless education. Fortunate you!
You wonder if there are other books that discuss Mckinney-Vento. So you click into the Reference Universe database and search the whole Reference Collection in one search!
Now that you have the law text and some examples, you should look at what kinds of matters related to homelessness may have been adjudicated by the NYSED Commissioner of Education. You also decide to search the Commissioner's Decisions for "residence"
Looks like the School Law textbook mentions some 8 NYCRR regulations and some NYS statutes. Good thing they're online!
However, because Mckinney-Vento is a federal law, you need to search for court cases, too. Lexis Nexis to the rescue! A Federal & State Cases search on "Mckinney act" should get us started. Too many results? Add words like Children or school or district. Or all of them.
That librarian is so cool! You think as you write the paper. Everyone should know a cool librarian.

Select cases to practice

2010-01-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

Forest Grove School dist v. T.A. (Special education)557 U.S. ___ (2009), 129 S.Ct. 2484
Safford Unified School District v. Redding (Search & Seizure) 557 U.S. ___ (2009), 129 S.Ct. 2633
Morse v. Frederick (Freedom of Speech) 551 U.S. 393

Russell v. Devon case found! (Or, You're Welcome, part II)

2009-09-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

We discovered the opinion for Russell v. Men dwelling in Devon (1788, 2 TR 667) in John Henry Wigmore's Select cases on the Law of Torts (Northwestern, 1912). see pp. 837-839. Thanks, Google Book project!

You're welcome

2009-09-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

NewYork (State). Task Force on School Violence. Safer Schools in the 21st century. Report from 1999. Lovingly preserved through a NYS Library digitization initiative.

Find Paper decisons in the Nassau Area

2009-09-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

We used some library catalogs to locate if the older, paper versions of the Commissioner's Decisions AKA the Judicial Decisions of the Commissioner of Education AKA the Education Department Reports were available in the Nassau County Area.

We found them at (Be sure to call or email them before you visit!!!)

Hempstead Public Library
Suffolk Community College (yes, we know what county it's in)
Nassau County Court Library [maybe; we're not sure] in Mineola
Adelphi University Library
Dowling College Library
CW Post Library

National Library Week presentation

2009-04-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

If you plan to be in the Hudson Valley on the 15th, please consider attending our thought-provoking panel on school libraries. Or invite a library school student! ** You're invited to attend a SUNY New Paltz program celebrating National Library Week 2009: "Teachers and School Librarians: Partnerships that Work" School librarians are an extraordinary educational resource. Every day, they introduce students to libraries as important information resources, teach essential information seeking and evaluative skills, and prepare students for higher levels of research. When teachers and librarians work together, they ensure that learning doesn’t end when students leave the classroom. How do teachers and librarians form working collaborations? What are the benefits and what are the obstacles? As an educator, how can you make these collaborations work? Join us as we welcome four educators from nearby schools who have created exceptional and thought-provoking partnerships. Dale Thompson, an eighth grade English teacher and Joan Alley, school librarian are from Bailey Middle School in Kingston. Thompson and Alley have collaborated on an innovative Civil War learning unit with their classes. Alley has presented workshops on Big 6, an information and computer literacy program designed for children and teens. Charlotte Adamis and Victoria Brooks are from Chambers Elementary School. Prior to becoming a librarian, Adamis worked in the arts and in journalism. Brooks is a New Paltz graduate with twenty-two years experience teaching first and second grade. Together, they will discuss how they collaborate on science lessons. This program will take place on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 4:30pm at SUNY New Paltz, Lecture Center 102. This event is free and open to the public. For details please contact Stephan J. Macaluso at (845) 257-2699, macaluss@newpaltz.edu, or Amanda Merritt at (845) 257- 2335, merritta@newpaltz.edu. This program is sponsored by Sojourner Truth Library, the SUNY New Paltz School of Education and the SUNY New Paltz Career Resource Center. ***

Shepardizing....

2009-03-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

...is available in case decisions in Lexis Nexis Academic. Find prior and subsequent history as well as how the decision was treated in cases and in secondary sources like reviews and law textbooks.

When I shepardize a case, I usually do so by clicking the "Next Steps" feature on the case display.

I forgot that Lexis Nexis does a pretty good job of explaining how to do these things. See here, for example.

If you're so inclined, LexisNexis also has a nifty guide to navigating the paper version of Shepard's (pdf)

First Amendment and the Internet

2009-02-24T05:20:00.000-08:00

A student in one of the Law classes recently emailed me about issues with finding First amendment cases in LexisNexis that concern the online environment. I've pasted an edited version of my reply below.

Mucho disclaimer: This represents just one way to approach the problem. By this posting, I don't intend to scoop up new decisions or follow this issue unless it becomes a personal interest.

Thanks for your question. Sounds like you're doing a pretty thorough search; here are some suggestions, based on what what you wrote. First, from what you describe, you're using the Federal and State Cases feature in LexisNexis. Great!! There are lots of terms that might describe the online environment, you might try a few other terms. Remember you can link them all together in the keyword search box by using "OR" connectors. Copy and paste the following into your search box; mine the results for other synonyms and follow the pattern: (internet or cyberspace or web or "world wide web" or myspace or facebook or online or AOL or computer or network) I got more than 3000 results from this search, but then I used the "Search within results" feature to add "first amendment". Worked well for me, anyway. You seem to be looking for any case having to do with the internet and people who have gone to court, for whatever reason, to defend their speech using the first amendment. I'm not sure, but it may be more fruitful to concentrate on particular laws that have been challenged by first amendment claim, including, but not limited to, copyright and trademark infringement, peer-to-peer file sharing, piracy. Consider also Fraud, which will yield a lot on its own. And while it may not seem relevant at first glance, there's also Privacy, which is the other side of the coin. Oftentimes, one claims one's (first amendment) right to privacy has been violated in order to find out just what they've been saying. There's a range of wiretap laws and other terms that you can use here. Consider that recent case in which Google was sued for having pictures of some Pennsylvania couple's house on Google Earth. As you can tell from all this, looking by particular laws might work really well, rather than wading through all the first amendment cases that involve the internet. You might be thinking of defaming/defamation, cyberstalking (which has some laws attached to it, but still very few). And harassment, which will surely offer you some cases. here are a few cases on harassment involving the internet, students and the first amendment (all in lexis!) 2008 u.s. dist. Lexis Nexis 72685 j.s. v. blue mountain school district 412 f.supp. 2d 502 layshock v. hermitage school district (2006) a.b. v. state of indiana 863 n.e. 2d 1212 You might also do a case law search on applicable laws, which might be the Communications Decency Act, or the Interstate Stalking Act (47 usc 223) or the children's online privacy protection act. Other applicable laws are 18 usc 2425, and 18 usc 875(c). [I say "might be..." because one might go to court to defend ones self against such a claim of violation of such laws via the first amendment. What's actually taken place in court is up to you to discover.] Couple of sites that might help you scope things down and find relevant cases and laws are http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/computer_and_internet_fraud And try out the Law Reviews and Journals feature in LexisNexis to get some background. It's important to note that laws pertaining to cyberspace are relatively new, and so sometimes other laws (not those listed above) are the conditions under which a trial takes place. It's also important to note that pending cases might yield more than the decisions themselves. head over to the Unified Court System website and search the eCourts feature for pending cases that might relate (although the first amendment is a federal matter, NYS courts might have similar cases pending). Finally, remember that Lexis only represents judicial matters; it might be worthwhile to see if the Commissioner's decisions yield anything, too.

Russell v. Men of Devon

2009-01-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

Just to clarify the reporter and citation
100 Eng.Rep. 359 (1788)

"Eng. Rep." stands for "English reports";. it's volume 100, page 359; year 1788

As of this writing, I'm unaware of an online, full-text of the decision. However, one should search Lexis Nexis for cases that cite it (yes, it was cited in American cases!) and search Google Scholar (like this search) or Jstor for articles that mention it.

Interns: Great questions

2009-01-29T08:32:00.001-08:00

One of our interns here at the library participated in a law refresher that I gave the other day. She told us about here experiences doing some grad work at the New York state Library, where she was frequently asked about "chaptering" laws. What, pray, tell, is chaptering?

Simple enough: Nolo offers this definition
Chaptered: A bill becomes chaptered if it is approved by the legislature and signed by the governor.

Long story short, session laws -- the laws that are grouped together by subject but are not yet incorporated into the Consolidated Laws -- are given chapter numbers. Chaptering is the process of taking a new law and locating it in the session laws.

Interns. Always another brilliant question!

New York City Chancellor's Regulations...

2009-01-27T17:17:00.001-08:00

...are available here.

CF this post from Gotham Schools, which refers to the recent Pollicino decision.

Other Commish decisions related to the DOE or the Chancellor? Glad you asked!!

Part 113 of 8 NYCRR concerns how the DOE fits into the Commish's appeals process.

Article 52-A, or section 2590, or the Consolidated laws of NYS, covers the New York City Community School District System

Public Access Libraries

2009-01-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a listing of court libraries in NYS. This page currently also links to library policies, contact information and to LION, the combined law library catalog.

Here's the search result for "Education Department Reports" AKA The Commissioner's Decisions

Court decisions we'll see often.

2009-01-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

Commissioner's Decisions Sampler

2009-01-23T07:01:00.000-08:00

These decisions often make their way into our class demos:

Appeal of R.S. 38 Educ. Dept. Rpts 419. Decision no. 13, 695
Appeal of J.D. 39 Educ. Dept. Rpts 593 Decsision no. 14,884
Appeal of EDDY Decision no. 13,748

Appeal of C.D. Decision no. 15,041

Now, you try! Click to the Commissioner's decisions website and locate by searching or browsing (or both)

Appeal of McKenna Dec. no. 14,774
Appeal of Pintka Dec. No. Decision No. 13,034

Need I remind you that these are not referred to as "cases" but as appeals or matters!

NYPER??

2009-01-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

In looking up the Taylor Law, I was reminded that compilations of the NYS Public Employment Relations Board are available online, but they're not complete. We DO have access PERB's decisions, collected in New York Public Employee Reporter, or NYPER, In LexisNexis Academic.

How to search for, and Search inside, NYPER:

Log into Lexis Nexis, then click the Sources tab at the top of the page
Click the Search by Source button, then
on the next screen , type in the Keyword box "public employee reporter". Search!
From the results, locate New York Public Employee Reporter and click it. Then click Continue
Lexis is ready for you to search that resource. type in what you're looking for in the search box and all your results should be from the NYPER.

Which Education Law Journals do we own?

2009-01-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a list we compiled using our "Journals" search tool, found on the [NEW!] orange tool bar on our library's website

Education Law journals
School law journals [NOTE: a few irrelevant hits here because of the search engine's limitations]

Remember that results that say "SUNY New Paltz Library Catalog" are items we have in paper; ones that mention the name of a database, like LexisNexis Academic, are online.

Where's Education Department Reports??

2009-01-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

For our students studying away from our home campus (and needless to say, we welcome your visit!), we've compiled a short list of libraries that may have Education Department Reports, AKA "Judicial decisions of the Commissioner of Education and formal opinions of counsel", volumes 1 to ___.

While we've tried to ascertain that these libraries own the older, paper volumes you may need for your, we can't make any guarantees. Additionally, every library has its own policies for admitting visitros to use their libraries, so please call them before you travel!

Here's a short list of nearby libraries. Google 'em for their phone numbers and to search their catalogs top verify they have the volumes you need

SUNY New Paltz

Vassar

Greene County Courthouse

Newburgh Free Library

Mount Vernon

Yonkers –Riverfront

[Many CUNY libraries]

Iona College

Concordia

Pace (and Pace Law library)

Columbia Teacher’s College

ALSO: are you familiar with worldcat.org? It's a tool for locating materials in libraries and it even informs you how far away those libraries are! Here is the search result for Education Department Reports (distances may appear with New Paltz as the origin),

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1760195&referer=brief_results

U.S. Department of Education Home Page

2009-01-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

Arne Duncan is the [new] Secretary of Education. A link to his youtube video is available at the
U.S. Department of Education Home Page

New York Codes, Rules and Regulations

2008-12-02T09:56:00.001-08:00

NYCRR is now online!! The resource that one needs to find NYS regulations (e.g., 8 NYCRR, which are the Education Regs) are available at

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/nycrr.htm

NYS Comptroller and ATTNY General Opinions

2008-12-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

The NYS Office of the Comptroller publishes legal opinions as well as reports, audits, and guidelines. From the site
"These opinions represent the views of the Office of the State Comptroller at the time they were rendered. The opinions may no longer represent those views if, among other things, there have been subsequent court cases or statutory amendments that bear on the issues discussed in the opinions."

Link http://www.osc.state.ny.us/legal/

The NYS Attorney General's Office also has opinions and announcements going back more than ten years to the present.

From the site "The Division of Appeals and Opinions operates under the direction of the Solicitor General, who, by statute, is appointed by the Attorney General. The Division is responsible for preparing and arguing civil and criminal appeals in both state and federal courts. The Division determines which cases are to be appealed and determines which legal arguments will be advanced on behalf of the State of New York. The Division also provides advice and counsel to the Attorney General and to Attorneys throughout the Office."

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/appeals_opinions/opinions/index_op.html

Another Lexis Tip: New York State Statutes

2008-09-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Want to find a NYS statute, and only want to search a specific volume e.g. "Education"? When you do a search in the NYS code, limit to EDUCATION under Heading.

Click the link to search "specific document sections," and select Heading from the list, then type Education in the box and add to search!

So...for practice, type in the words termination employment as a Natural Language search, and perform the limit described above.

a few cases to try by citation or litigants

2008-09-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

seamons v. snow
board of education v. tom f.
546 u.s. 49 schaffer v. weast
hendrick hudson v. rowley 458 u.s. 176

Three illustrations of what I mean

2008-09-26T05:59:00.001-07:00

It's hard to articulate. These matters below are neither necessarily unusual or unsatisfying; but they show how courts and the Commissioner determine more than guilt or innocence.

Woods v. Rondout Valley Central School District .

(466 F.3d 232). Eleventh Amendment issue

Appeal of Bitteker, Dec.#14,326

Dismissed as untimely and moot

Appeal of Nett and Raby, Dec. #15,315

School board member found to have breached NYS confidentiality laws but not removed from office

Sheff v. O'neill (298 Conn. 1) [memorandum]

Connecticut court found that Hartford schools were racially segregated. Instead of acting by itself, court showed restraint, allowing the legislature and executive branch to find a remedy.

CAUTION regarding reporter abbreviations!

2008-09-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

Many of the Commissioner's Decisions cite case law, but the citations often appear without the right punctuation! Lexis Nexis is very picky about punctuation i.e., unless you type in the missing periods in the reporter name, you'll get no case!

EXAMPLE: Commissioner's Decision 15,774 cites Longwood Cent. School Dist. v. Springs Union Free School Dist., 1 NY3d 385; but to find the case in Lexis, you'll need to put in the periods, 1 n.y.3d 385

So, where do you go to learn the proper punctuation? Page XV of the School Law textbook is a great resource. So are these

BU Law Library site: better for federal than for indiv. state reporters

Cleveland Marshall College of Law citations page: great overview of how to read 'em
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (including what gets omitted and other common citation issues) by Peter Martin, Cornell LII

LexisNexis� Academic: Try these

2008-09-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

You can do a "natural language" search for phrases. just put the phrases in quotes. Try some of these, and remember to limit your search to NYS federal and state cases

"free and appropriate education"
"zero tolerance"
"education law section 3214"
"Age discrimination in employment act"

New York State Education Department PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE

2008-09-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

What are the (NYS) rights of special education students and their parents? Visit

New York State Education Department PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE

See the Resolving Concerns page, too

RandyChapman’s Ability Law Blog

2008-09-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Frank G v. Bd of Ed commentary from Randy Chapman. And here's the decision

RandyChapman’s Ability Law Blog

Welcome to the Division of Administrative Rules

2008-09-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

NY Codes, Rules & Regulations. Finally online! 8 NYCRR are the Commissioner of Education's Regs. Browse by Number of use the Search tool to look for keywords.

NYCRR: Welcome to the Division of Administrative Rules

NYS Violent Incident Reports (VADIR)

2008-05-15T13:18:00.001-07:00

Violent and Disruptive Incidents Reports:Mandatory reporting data on violent incidents in NYS schools

Courthouse News

2008-05-15T13:12:00.001-07:00

Great place to find news and other legal documents, if you're curious to see what they look like.
http://www.courthousenews.com

CT/NJ State Departments of Education

2008-01-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

Comparison??
New Jersey Dept. of Education: Legal
Connecticut State Department of Education

California: Laws ("code") and Regulations page | California Dept of Education

Terms we'll see often

2008-01-23T19:15:00.000-08:00

interim relief
Injunctive relief (enjoin)
Petitioner and respondent (in commissioner's decisions)
Timely/untimely
Due Process
Capricious and Arbitrary
sustained and dismissed appeals

What will people sue under?

2008-01-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

A few Acts/Statutes that we'll see often

testing out a database

2008-01-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

Sample searches

Do a proximity search for "strength vitality alertness" in the CFR
Do a search for "dress code" in the Commissioner's decisions

2008-01-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

The baseball bat case in New York City
509 F. Supp. 2d 285 USA BASEBALL et al v.CITY OF NEW YORK (2007)

Compare with John A. Watson v. City of Cambridge157 Mass. 561 (1893)

If you can't use Lexis Nexis...

2008-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe at times, you won;'t be able to. So this is a good time to bookmark where on the free web you can find laws, regs, administrative decisions and case law

Decisions of the NYS Commissioner of Education AKA Education Department Reports (not in LN anyway) NOTE: volumes 31 - present ONLY!
NYCRR
US CODE AKA US Statutes
Code of Federal Regulations (34 CFR are Education regs)
NYS Consolidated Laws AKA McKinney's Black Books
Pending Bills in US Congress [THOMAS] Not in LN
Pending Bills in NYS (Not in LN)
Browse VERY SELECT US Supreme Court opinions
SELECT NYS case law and 2nd Circuit federal opinions
NYS Unified Court System: opinions & great overview of how it all works

Definitions

2008-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

One of many things that statutes and regulations do is to provide definitions for terms.

FAPE: free appropriate public education
LRE: Least Restrictive Environment
Central, Union Free, Consolidated etc., School Districts
Highly Qualified teacher
Mohair Definitions.see CFR Title 7: Agriculture § 1421.3

EXAMPLE 2: Firearms in Schools: Zero Tolerance & Suspensions

2008-01-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Again, Starting with a federal Statute

TITLE 20. EDUCATION
CHAPTER 70. STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
21ST CENTURY SCHOOLS
SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
GUN POSSESSION
20 USCS § 7151

§ 7151. Gun-free requirements

(a) Short title. This subpart [this section] may be cited as the "Gun-Free Schools Act".

(b) Requirements.
(1) In general. Each State receiving Federal funds under any title of this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] shall have in effect a State law requiring local educational agencies to expel from school for a period of not less than 1 year a student who is determined to have brought a firearm to a school, or to have possessed a firearm at a school, under the jurisdiction of local educational agencies in that State, except that such State law shall allow the chief administering officer of a local educational agency to modify such expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis if such modification is in writing.
(2) Construction. Nothing in this subpart [this section] shall be construed to prevent a State from allowing a local educational agency that has expelled a student from such a student's regular school setting from providing educational services to such student in an alternative setting.
(3) Definition. For the purpose of this section, the term "firearm" has the same meaning given such term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

(c) Special rule. The provisions of this section shall be construed in a manner consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 USCS §§ 1400 et seq.].

(d) Report to State. Each local educational agency requesting assistance from the State educational agency that is to be provided from funds made available to the State under any title of this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] shall provide to the State, in the application requesting such assistance--
(1) an assurance that such local educational agency is in compliance with the State law required by subsection (b); and
(2) a description of the circumstances surrounding any expulsions imposed under the State law required by subsection (b), including--
(A) the name of the school concerned;
(B) the number of students expelled from such school; and
(C) the type of firearms concerned.

(e) Reporting. Each State shall report the information described in subsection (d) to the Secretary on an annual basis.

(f) Definition. For the purpose of subsection (d), the term "school" means any setting that is under the control and supervision of the local educational agency for the purpose of student activities approved and authorized by the local educational agency.

(g) Exception. Nothing in this section shall apply to a firearm that is lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property, or if it is for activities approved and authorized by the local educational agency and the local educational agency adopts appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety.

(h) Policy regarding criminal justice system referral.
(1) In general. No funds shall be made available under any title of this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] to any local educational agency unless such agency has a policy requiring referral to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system of any student who brings a firearm or weapon to a school served by such agency.
(2) Definition. For the purpose of this subsection, the term "school" has the same meaning given to such term by section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

Federal law becomes state law by mandate : NYS Education Law 3214

. [Until June 30, 2008]
(1) Consistent with the federal gun-free schools act, any public school pupil who is determined under this subdivision to have brought a firearm to or possessed a firearm at a public school shall be suspended for a period of not less than one calendar year and any nonpublic school pupil participating in a program operated by a public school district using funds from the elementary and secondary education act of nineteen hundred sixty-five who is determined under this subdivision to have brought a firearm to or possessed a firearm at a public school or other premises used by the school district to provide such programs shall be suspended for a period of not less than one calendar year from participation in such program. The procedures of this subdivision shall apply to such a suspension of a nonpublic school pupil. A superintendent of schools, district superintendent of schools or community superintendent shall have the authority to modify this suspension requirement for each student on a case-by-case basis. The determination of a superintendent shall be subject to review by the board of education pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision and the commissioner pursuant to section three hundred ten of this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize the suspension of a student with a disability in violation of the individuals with disabilities education act or article eighty-nine of this chapter. A superintendent shall refer the pupil under the age of sixteen who has been determined to have brought a weapon or firearm to school in violation of this subdivision to a presentment agency for a juvenile delinquency proceeding consistent with article three of the family court act except a student fourteen or fifteen years of age who qualifies for juvenile offender status under subdivision forty-two of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law. A superintendent shall refer any pupil sixteen years of age or older or a student fourteen or fifteen years of age who qualifies for juvenile offender status under subdivision forty-two of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, who has been determined to have brought a weapon or firearm to school in violation of this subdivision to the appropriate law enforcement officials.
(2) Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to mandate such action by a school district pursuant to subdivision one of this section where such weapon or firearm is possessed or brought to school with the written authorization of such educational institution in a manner authorized by article two hundred sixty-five of the penal law for activities approved and authorized by the trustees or board of education or other governing body of the public school and such governing body adopts appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety.
(3) As used in this paragraph:
(i) "firearm" shall mean a firearm as defined in subsection a of section nine hundred twenty-one of title eighteen of the United States Code; and
(ii) "weapon" shall be as defined in paragraph 2 of subsection g of section nine hundred thirty of title eighteen of the United States Code.

d. [Eff June 30, 2008] Consistent with the federal gun-free schools act of nineteen hundred ninety-four, any public school pupil who is determined under this subdivision to have brought a weapon to school shall be suspended for a period of not less than one calendar year and any nonpublic school pupil participating in a program operated by a public school district using funds from the elementary and secondary education act of nineteen hundred sixty-five who is determined under this subdivision to have brought a weapon to a public school or other premises used by the school district to provide such programs shall be suspended for a period of not less than one calendar year from participation in such program. The procedures of this subdivision shall apply to such a suspension of a nonpublic school pupil. A superintendent of schools, district superintendent of schools or community superintendent shall have the authority to modify this suspension requirement for each student on a case-by-case basis. The determination of a superintendent shall be subject to review by the board of education pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision and the commissioner pursuant to section three hundred ten of this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize the suspension of a student with a disability in violation of the individuals with disabilities education act or article eighty-nine of this chapter. A superintendent shall refer the pupil under the age of sixteen who has been determined to have brought a weapon to school in violation of this subdivision to a presentment agency for a juvenile delinquency proceeding consistent with article three of the family court act except a student fourteen or fifteen years of age who qualifies for juvenile offender status under subdivision forty-two of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law. A superintendent shall refer any pupil sixteen years of age or older or a student fourteen or fifteen years of age who qualifies for juvenile offender status under subdivision forty-two of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, who has been determined to have brought a weapon to school in violation of this subdivision to the appropriate law enforcement officials.

Appeals to the commissioner

Appeal of CD Decision No. 15,041 (bb gun as firearm, more strict local policy than fed, alternative education during suspension, due process) http://www.counsel.nysed.gov/Decisions/volume43/d15041.htm
Appeal of EDDY Decision No. 13,748 (mootness, expunge, community service, no IEP ruling) http://www.counsel.nysed.gov/Decisions/volume36/d13748.htm

Example 1: relationship between Federal Statute, Fed. Regulation and the state

2008-01-23T08:16:00.001-08:00

Here is an example of how Congress enacts a law, which then authorizes or mandates the Secretary of Education to act. the Secretary's actions can be codified in 34 CFR.
The secretary can then authorize or mandate the State Educational Agencies (SEAs) or Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to act.
Our Staring Point: 20 USC 1417 (e)

Congress authorizes the Secretary of education…..

(e) Model forms

Not later than the date that the Secretary publishes final regulations under this chapter, to implement amendments made by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, the Secretary shall publish and disseminate widely to States, local educational agencies, and parent and community training and information centers—

(1) a model IEP form;

(2) a model individualized family service plan (IFSP) form;

(3) a model form of the notice of procedural safeguards described in section 1415 (d) of this title; and

(4) a model form of the prior written notice described in subsections (b)(3) and (c)(1) of section 1415 of this title that is consistent with the requirements of this subchapter and is sufficient to meet such requirements.

The Secretary then creates Rules for how this is to be done. In this case, The Secretary gives authority and mandates to the State and Local education Agencies…


[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 34, Volume 2]

[Revised as of July 1, 2007]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 34CFR300.509]

[Page 81]

                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION

 CHAPTER III--OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES,

                         DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

PART 300_ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN

WITH DISABILITIES--Table of Contents

 Subpart E_Procedural Safeguards Due Process Procedures for Parents and

                                Children

Sec. 300.509  Model forms.

    (a) Each SEA must develop model forms to assist parents and public

agencies in filing a due process complaint in accordance with Secs.

300.507(a) and 300.508(a) through (c) and to assist parents and other

parties in filing a State complaint under Secs. 300.151 through

300.153. However, the SEA or LEA may not require the use of the model

forms.

    (b) Parents, public agencies, and other parties may use the

appropriate model form described in paragraph (a) of this section, or

another form or other document, so long as the form or document that is

used meets, as appropriate, the content requirements in Sec. 300.508(b)

for filing a due process complaint, or the requirements in Sec.

300.153(b) for filing a State complaint.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1415(b)(8))

How do the Regulations then manifest themselves? By placement of web pages, where they’re widely accessible.

http://www.ed.gov [search “IEP model forms” to see posted regs, tips, and the forms]
http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/iep/sampform.htm