Pool Counsel Quarterly Lookback, May 2025: See what you missed!
A roundup of topics covered recently as part of the firm’s subscriber-based service.
Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP is proud to offer a unique subscription-based service entitled "Pool Counsel" to school entities.
With this service, any member of the Pool Counsel service can email on-demand questions anytime on various operational issues related to Special Education or Technology, and all subscribers are "pooled" on the email distribution of the responses.
Here are some topics covered recently:
Age 22 Policy
Pool Counsel provided updated guidance for drafting IEPs and NOREPs for students who might age out of eligibility while we await court rulings on the "age 22" litigation, and encouraged subscribers to make public comment on a proposed change to extend IDEA age eligibility.
Complaint form on USDE Website
Pool Counsel discussed the new online United States Department of Education complaint form - its origins, pitfalls, and implications.
Complaint form on PA DOE Website
Pool Counsel provided background and insight into the Pennsylvania Department of Education's complaint process related to the education and treatment of school-aged students.
DEI
Pool Counsel provided guidance as to how to respond to a USDE request for a signed certification assuring of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Discipline Policy White House Directive
Pool Counsel offered background and perspective on the new presidential "Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies" order.
Emancipation
A student declared to a district that she was “emancipated," and shared directives for communication. How does a district determine if this is the case?
Flexible Instructional Days
Pool Counsel pondered whether a recent communication from the Pennsylvania secretary of education concerning virtual learning was misleading, or just plain incorrect...
Section 504
Seventeen states filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Section 504. What are the implications of this?
Title IX
A recent communication from the United States Department of Education on Title IX regulation enforcement is explained.
Benefits of the Pool Counsel service include not only the ability to ask questions 24/7, but also an electronic "Resource Room," where members can log in to access the full library of all past Pool Counsel answers, searchable by topic and archived by year
To learn more, contact Andy Faust (Special Education) or Mark Cheramie Walz (Technology) or call 215-345-9111.