Supreme Court Rules Policy Prohibiting Opt-Out of Certain Classroom Instruction Likely Violates First Amendment

Recently, the Supreme Court, in Mahmoud v. Taylor, held that a Maryland school district’s policy prohibiting parents from receiving notice and having the ability to opt their children out of instruction involving LGBTQ-themed storybooks likely violated the parents’ right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment. Read more...

Seventh Circuit Finds Lack of Discriminatory Pretext in Reassignment of Principal 

The Seventh Circuit ruled against a principal who claimed age and sex discrimination under Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act after being reassigned from a high school to an elementary school. The court found that the principal failed to meet her burden to present evidence of discriminatory pretext under either Title VII or the ADEA. Read more...

Teacher's Religious Accommodation Claim Revived Again

In a long-running case involving a teacher's refusal to use students' preferred names and pronouns for religious reasons, Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School District Corp., the Seventh Circuit applied a new religious-accommodation test and revived the teacher's claim, saying a jury should decide the case. Read more...

Public Bodies Need More Than Blanket Exemptions Under FOIA

Any public body asserting a FOIA exemption must prove that the withheld records are exempt. An Illinois court concluded that blanket exemptions based on conclusory claims are insufficient and required the State’s Attorney’s Office to provide more specifics on the basis for the exemption it was asserting. Read more...