Articles Posted in Education Law

After suffering a sexual assault in a Stony Brook University dorm room, she suffered flashbacks, panic attacks and nightmares.

Still, she pushed forward in pursing the case through the university’s internal disciplinary procedures. She expected the experience would be difficult and trying. She did not anticipate being forced to prosecute her rapist on her own, despite having zero legal training.

The process reportedly required her to question the alleged attacker on the witness stand, and to also be subjected to cross-examination directly from him.

All this is according to a lawsuit filed against the university for violation of Title IX. This is a federal statute that bars gender discrimination at institutions of higher education that rely on money from the U.S. government. The law also encompasses claims of sexual assault, rape and sexual harassment.
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All parents have a right to trust that when they send their child to school, the teachers, administrators and employees will provide a safe learning environment.

When this does not happen, there are a number of legal theories upon which parents can pursue court action against the district. Those include premises liability law, which requires the city/school to keep the property in safe condition. It can also include some situations in which the child is assaulted, bullied or falls ill and the school fails to control the situation or come to the aid of the student.

A recent lawsuit out of Queens alleges a special education teacher reportedly punched a pupil with a closed fist for allegedly cheating on a test. The 36-year-old teacher has since been arrested on charges of felony assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. A second mother has come forward as well, alleging the same teacher “terrorized” her daughter earlier in the school year. She too has filed a lawsuit.
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As we embark on the beginning of another school year, some parents are dreading the possibility that their child may face bullying from other students. Parents seek always to protect their children from harm, but this is a situation where parents often feel powerless to intervene.

However, New York City education lawyers know anti-bullying efforts here in New York and across the country have resulted in better, more streamlined response to bullying.

The 2014-2015 school year marks the third since enactment of New York’s Dignity for All Students Act (NYDASA), and the second since a major amendment was made encompassing cyberbullying, how bullying investigations must be conducted and how school districts are required to respond.
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Parents of special needs students face many unique and difficult challenges. Unfortunately, this is no different when working to ensure their child receives a fair and adequate public education, as required by law.

Our special education attorneys in New York realize this fundamental right is often breached, as evidenced by the fact that the U.S. Department of Education several years ago gave New York one of the lowest ratings for special education services. School districts point to looming budget cuts and lack of qualified teachers. However, parents of special education students recognize this has become an excuse for districts to fail to meet their child’s educational needs.

Even if parents don’t have solid proof, a special education advocate can help sort through whether your child has an adequate Individual Education Plan (IEP), whether the school placement is appropriate and whether the district has been proactive in securing the necessary level of after-school tutoring and assistive technology that can help students with special needs.
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Officials with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with 32 state attorneys general, are working to expand investigation into the promises and practices of for-profit colleges, with special attention being paid to student loans.

There is ample indication, the watchdogs say, that there are unfair and deceptive lending practices at these institutions. Inquiries have also led authorities to believe that schools have been overstating the results of their offerings, fudging the facts on post-graduate job placement and more. These kinds of actions are likely to spur New York education lawsuits.

Among those that are being more closely scrutinized:

• Education Management Co. (a chain partially-owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.);
• ITT Educational Services Inc.;
• Corinthian Colleges Inc.;
• Career Education Corp.

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Two high school students reportedly suffered severe burns in New York City while conducting a routine lab experiment in class.

According to news reports, the chemistry instructor had hoped to offer students a unique display of rainbow flames resulting from burning different kinds of nitrates. However, the buildup of volatile fumes instead ignited into a fireball that shot across the room, severely injuring two students. None who were present were wearing the appropriate safety goggles, witnesses say, and its alleged that a full minute passed before a fire extinguisher was located and used to put out the flames.

As the students continue to recover, the case remains under investigation. However, it seems clear there was at least some degree of negligence. The teacher and the school had a duty to ensure the safety of those children, and it seems that duty may have been breached.
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The boy was just 12. His mother recalls him smiling a lot. He was small and he sometimes stuttered. But his sweet nature had a way of winning over almost everyone he met.

Almost everyone.

The East Harlem boy hanged himself in the shower after two years of unrelenting bullying by a handful of his school peers. He would be tripped. Pushed. Chased. Taunted. Struck with objects. When his mother complained to administrators and the parents of the alleged bullies, it got worse.

Now, the deceased boy’s mother has filed a lawsuit against the New York City Education Department, naming also the parents of those boys who tormented her son. The lawsuit claims that not only do the parents have culpability in her son’s death, but also the city, the school administrators and the teachers. All share responsibility, she says, because they did nothing to stop the mistreatment of her son.
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Higher education couldn’t come at a higher premium these days, with students accepting tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for a degree in the hopes of landing a job in an increasingly cutthroat job market.

But a new lawsuit, filed by the New York State Attorney General’s Office against the for-profit education institution founded by real estate mogul Donald Trump, underscores the required transparency in the for-profit education industry. Specifically, institutions that tout themselves as “colleges” or “universities” have certain criteria they must meet. All higher education providers have a responsibility to make their credentials clear. Anything less, our New York education lawyers know, is a form of fraud.

When Trump University was first founded several years ago, Trump was derided by many for his foray into reality television and ill-fated presidential run. It may have been tough for the public at that point to take him seriously, even though he is a billionaire.
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The New York Supreme Court has rejected the first of more than a dozen lawsuits brought by recent law school graduates, alleging their school had lured them to enroll under fraudulent pretenses.

Our fraud litigation attorneys were disappointed with

the ruling, as it likely means the remaining 14 cases will not move forward.

The case, Gomez-Jimenez v. New York Law School had alleged that school had misrepresented and/or lied about how successful alumni were in finding employment after the completion of their education. Plaintiffs had been seeking a collective $225 million.

Among the claims made by the school at the time students enrolled was that between 90 and 92 percent of graduates from the school had secured employment within nine months. What the school allegedly failed to mention was how many of those positions were temporary or part-time or how many of them had nothing to do with a law degree. Lumped in with that 92 percent were graduates who were working as coffee shop baristas and in retail sales – jobs that don’t require a law degree and won’t even begin to help make a dent in those astronomical law school loans.

If this case sound familiar, that’s probably because you may have heard it before. A New York County judge had dismissed the action back in the spring of last year, saying that the career woes of the plaintiffs could be pinned more on the economic downturn than on the claims made by the school.

The case was appealed. However, the appellate court found that while the law school had been “less than candid” about the career paths of its recent graduates, the dismissal was still appropriate.

The plaintiffs had hoped the state’s high court would agree to review the matter, but now that does not appear likely. A similar lawsuit involving Albany Law School was dismissed by a trial court as well, though that case is pending appeal. Decisions are also pending in cases against the law school at Hofstra University and the Brooklyn Law School.

Representative lawyers had said that while they were disappointed with the court’s decision, one of the latent goals of the entire process was realized: law schools on the whole are becoming more transparent in how they operate and in what they promise.

Part of that has been the American Bar Association’s response to this type of litigation, which has been to require schools to submit more in-depth information regarding alumni employment for publication of its annual law school rankings, which is compiled each year in conjunction with U.S. News & World Report.

The attention that all this has garnered also prompted a number of U.S. senators to speak out critically against deceptive law school practices.

Although courts in New York State have generally not favored students in these matters, they had a moderate level of success elsewhere. In New Jersey, for example, a federal judge declined just last month to dismiss a similar case, saying that it was plausible that the claims of the alumni had merit.
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School is supposed to be a nurturing haven of learning and a refuge of safety.

Sadly, our education lawyers know this is not always the case. It’s troubling enough when children are cut down by their peers. But when it comes from teachers, administrators and bus drivers, it can be devastating.

Parents in New York’s Garden City have filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging the public school system has practiced widespread discrimination against disabled children. It is one of a number of similar cases cropping up across the country.

In this case, three mothers say the district treats children who have autism like second-class citizens.

In one case, a former female student with a neurological disorder who is able to communicate with the assistance of a machine, was allegedly told by public school administrators that she would not be able to finish high school. Her mother refused to accept that answer. She had to fight for it, but her daughter did eventually graduate high school, and is now receiving a college education.

By federal law, the public education system must provide an education to all students – regardless of the unique challenges they face. However, these mothers say when it comes to disabled children, the school does not make equal education a priority.

As our education lawyers well know, the process for these parents often involves an ongoing string of meetings and hearings. It’s wise in these cases to bring an advocate with you, to ensure your child is receiving the best possible education – and that the school is abiding by the law.

The mothers in this case speculate that the schools are reticent to provide equal education for their kids because their children’s test scores, like all other students, are tied to overall school ratings and therefore state and federal dollars.

That doesn’t make it acceptable.

Down in Florida, another federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a young female student who suffered from a neuromuscular disorder that made it difficult to sit up straight. She died on a school bus after suffocating; the lawsuit indicates bus employees failed to take action or even call 911. Instead, they reportedly followed “protocol” by trying to reach a supervisor. The lawsuit alleges a series of deaths of disabled children within the district dating back to 1999, revealing a pattern of disregard for the needs of disabled children.

In another case out of a Chicago suburb, parents there are suing the school district alleging that a school bus aide slapped an autistic male student. Parents might never have known of the incident had they not put a camera on his backpack when they noticed he seemed afraid to board the bus.

On that tape, the aide reportedly began yelling at the boy to get his hands out of his pocket, and then began slapping and hitting the child and threatened to break his fingers.

No other employee on the bus attempted to step in and stop the abuse, nor was it ever reported to the aide’s superiors.

If you believe your special needs child is being discriminated against or abused, call our experienced attorneys for advice on how to proceed.
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