On June 12, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in A.J.T. by and through A.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School District No. 279 (U.S., June 12, 2025, No. 24-249) 605 U.S. __, holding that students bringing disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 cannot be held to a higher legal standar

On June 5, 2025, in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services (2025) 145 S.Ct. 1540, the United States Supreme Court unanimously vacated the Sixth Circuit’s decision to dismiss the plaintiff’s reverse discrimination lawsuit, rejecting the lower court’s reasoning that the plaintiff failed to establish “background circumstances” to support the plausibility of r

In a decision signed on May 12, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California prohibited the Encinitas Union School District (District) from covering gender identity topics in health instruction in its elementary school buddy program, unless it provides parents with advance notice and an opportunity to opt out.

In DeFrancesco v. Robbins (9th Cir. 2025) 136 F.4th 933, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that university officials were entitled to qualified immunity in an action brought by a former employee alleging violation of his First Amendment right to be free from retaliation for his husband’s allegedly protected whistleblowing speech.

On May 22, 2025, in a 4-4 split decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision denying approval of a religion-based charter school on the grounds that approval of the charter would violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated the decision of the Eastern District of California dismissing a parent-plaintiff’s constitutional facial and as-applied challenges to the Chico Unified School District’s (District) Administrative Regulation (AR) 5145.3 - Nondiscrimination/Harassment (the Policy), specifically as it relates to student gender identity,

In Napa Valley Unified School District v. State Board of Education (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 14, 2025, No. C099068), California’s Third District Court of Appeal examined the discretion afforded to charter school authorizers in approving or denying charter petitions.

In K.J. by and through Johnson v. Jackson (9th Cir. 2025) 127 F.4th 1239, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the procedural due process rights outlined in Goss v. Lopez (1975) 419 U.S. 565 must be observed when imposing a suspension or extending a suspension based on new allegations or evidence.