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October 2026
Dear Readers of the Extra Mile:
October is our favorite month. We hope you enjoy the magic of having the NFL, the baseball postseason, and college football all in one month, not to mention the non-sports joys of fall and upcoming Halloween. Before we go on, though, let’s look at...
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
(IN 3 MINUTES OR LESS) |
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Litigation/Real Estate: Hodges Loizzi successfully defended a school district in a detachment case. Read more...
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Students/Special Education: A former student's Section 504 claims against an Illinois school district are allowed to proceed to trial. Read more...
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Students/Special Education: A parent's Section 504 claims against an Illinois school district largely survive a motion to dismiss. Read more...
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Students/Special Education: Mukwonago lives! A federal trial court permits a transgender student's Equal Protection claim to proceed. Read more...
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Students/Special Education: An Illinois federal trial court dismisses a student's complaint regarding transgender students' access to the girls' locker room. Read more...
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Board Governance: The PAC upholds a decision of town trustees to cut off a speaker for an obscene gesture. Read more...
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Students/Special Education: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upholds an Indiana school district's dismissal of a transfer student claims of disability discrimination. Read more...
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Board Governance: PTAB issues order adding new requirements on intervention resolutions.
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Personnel/Students: The Department of Education issues a final rule reinstating the 2020 Title IX regulations. Read more...
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Students/Special Education: ISBE issues amended Guidance on student residency. Read more...
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Register Now for the Final IASPA/HLERK Year in Review Conference!
We thank all the attendees at the Bloomington and Collinsville Year in Review conferences. A few spaces remain available for the Itasca conference. Click below to reserve your space!
Join us and avoid legal risk and attendant legal costs in the upcoming year.
In addition to the sheer pleasure of attending, you will also receive three Professional Development hours from IASPA and an electronic copy of the conference Handbook, a compendium of the school year's major developments.
The annual Stump the Lawyer session is a rare chance to get real answers delivered with Hodges Loizzi candor and humor.
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Consumer Price Index for September
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its September 2026 CPI data on October 14. Inflation ran at an annual rate of 3.7%, exceeding expectations. The "Core" CPI (excluding food and energy) likewise exceeded expectations. In general, inflation continues to well exceed the 2% annual rate sought by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve will meet on interest rates later this month. You can access the full BLS report below.
| | HODGES LOIZZI DEVELOPMENTS | | We are pleased to announce that our colleague Valerie Robert competed in the 2026 Ironman in Wisconsin on September 13. Valerie finished the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run in an impressive 11 hours, 57 minutes, and 1 second. Congratulations to Valerie on this incredible achievement! | |
Illinois Appellate Court Upholds Hodges Loizzi's Motion to Dismiss; Petition for School Detachment Denied
In a major ruling benefiting all Illinois school districts, an Illinois appellate court recently reversed a Regional Board of School Trustees’ decision and granted Hodges Loizzi’s original motion to dismiss. The appellate court ruled that the Petition for Detachment failed to meet statutory standards. Read more...
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Former Student's Claims of Discrimination Under Section 504 Allowed to Proceed to Trial
In Merkel v. Galva CUSD 224, et al., an Illinois federal court allowed a former student's disability discrimination claims to proceed to trial.
The court did so despite the student graduating as co-valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. The court’s ruling exposes the district to a jury trial (if the case is not settled) and possible monetary damages. Read more...
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Section 504 Claims Against an Illinois School District Largely Survive Motion to Dismiss
An Illinois court recently allowed an ADA, Section 504, and retaliation claim to proceed against an Illinois school district accused of refusing requested supports for a student with learning disabilities.
The ruling highlights the critical importance of careful and thoughtful compliance with the district's Section 504 procedures. Read more...
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Mukwonago Lives! Federal Trial Court Permits Transgender Student's Equal Protection Claim to Proceed
A Wisconsin federal trial court has issued a new ruling in Doe v. Mukwonago Area School District, a transgender student bathroom-access case we have previously reported on multiple times.
The court dismissed the student’s Title IX claim but allowed her Equal Protection claim to proceed. The court ruled that recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions did not displace existing Seventh Circuit precedent.
The case will move forward to determine whether the district can justify its bathroom policy under “intermediate” scrutiny. Read more...
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The PAC Upholds Town Trustees Decision to Remove Speaker for an Obscene Gesture
In a non-binding opinion, the Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor (PAC) found that a town’s board of trustees did not violate the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by briefly interrupting a public commenter and authorizing the commenter’s removal after he raised his middle finger at the board. Read more...
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Illinois Federal Trial Court Dismisses Complaint of Student Regarding Access of Transgender Student to Girls Locker Room
An Illinois federal trial court judge recently granted a school district's motion to dismiss a claim that the district's practice of allowing transgender students to access the locker facilities of their identified gender violated the Constitution and Title IX.
The case is not final, and we will monitor it in our future issues. Read More...
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Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Finding in Favor of Indiana School Districts on Transfer Student's Against Claims of Disability Discrimination
In a major ruling, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which governs Illinois) upheld a trial court finding that an Indiana school district did not violate Section 504. The student transferred under Indiana’s school-choice statute.
The student alleged, among other claims, that the district violated Section 504 by denying the student an MDR before the student’s exclusion. Read more...
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“Appeal-Specific” Resolution May Be Advisable For School District Intervention in Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board Appeals
During a recent meeting, the PTAB interpreted its intervention rule to require authorization from a taxing district's governing board for a specific appeal, rather than a general intervention-authorization resolution. However, PTAB applied this interpretation prospectively only.
To discuss specific property tax appeals or intervention procedures, contact Tony Senagore.
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Department of Education Issues Final Rule Reinstating 2020 Title IX Regulations
The U.S. Department of Education recently issued final regulations reinstating the Trump administration's 2020 Title IX Regulations and formally withdrawing the 2024 Biden administration-issued Title IX Regulations.
While this action formalizes their decision, the Trump administration has only enforced the 2020 Regulations for the past two years. Read more...
Title IX issues continue to rise both in number and complexity. Contact Tina Christofalos with your inquiries.
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ISBE Issues Amended Guidance on Student Residency
In August 2026, ISBE updated its non-regulatory Guidance on registration regarding residency, enrollment, and student eligibility for benefits and services (last issued in September 2025).
The new Guidance largely mirrors last year’s, except for added sections addressing enrollment issues among two groups that often face registration disruptions: children of migratory agricultural workers or fishers and youths in foster care. Read more...
| | | INSIGHTS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS | |
IAASE Fall Conference
The IAASE Annual Fall Conference, scheduled for October 22-23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, is fast approaching. Valerie Robert and Christine Christensen will be sharing their expertise and speaking on Managing Parent Demands in the Age of AI.
Please also join Michelle Todd and Jessica Nguyen as they reprise their acclaimed The Good, the Bad, Ugly: 2026 Special Education Update. Nobody does it better.
Space will be limited; get there early.
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IASB-IASA-IASBO Joint Conference
Michelle Todd, Heather Brickman, and Frazier Satterly will be presenting on the Legally Stumped Panel at the Joint Annual Conference on November 22. They will be sharing their expertise on cutting-edge issues facing school boards today, such as artificial intelligence use, data breaches, the First Amendment and employee social media posts, mental health accommodations, Title IX enforcement, and special education disputes; all with the trademark Hodges Loizzi candor and humor.
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IASB Workshop
Tony Loizzi will present Trends in Collective Bargaining for the IASB workshop on February 13, 2027, in East Peoria. Returning in person for the first time since 2020, this stand-alone workshop will highlight current bargaining developments and trends impacting Illinois school districts.
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- Many school districts report an increasing number of commercial and mass FOIA requests that put demand on administrators’ valuable time. Contact Steve Richart to discuss available options for managing the burdens of your commercial and mass FOIA requests.
- Make sure that you do not have a school board meeting scheduled for Election Day, on November 3.
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As mentioned above, we love October. No month combines the baseball postseason, college and pro football, and the magic of changing trees like the fall season. Of course, this year featured both the Cubs (apparently one run in 18 innings is not a recipe for success) and Sox (losing in the Division Round after winning the first two games in Cleveland).
We won't discuss the Bears loss to the Packers or Nebraska's fourth-quarter collapse against Indiana.
We hope you take time to enjoy the remarkably warm early October weather even while facing the challenges of the still-new school year.
What has changed in the intervening seven years is not the IHRC’s position; rather, it is the Trump administration’s and the Supreme Court’s. As reported above, courts in Illinois, particularly the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, continue to struggle with these issues.
We will discuss the complexities at the final Year in Review conference in Itasca. See you there.
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Our Media and Restaurant Recommendations
Our problem in media recommendations is not scarcity but abundance. This month, we recommend Widow’s Bay (Apple TV). The series is a combination comedy/horror starring Matthew Rhys. Speaking of Rhys, he also starred with his wife in The Americans (Hulu). Some of us consider it the best series of the 21st Century (well, maybe tied with The Sopranos, which we were recently advised is not technically a 21st-century series). Watch both if you can.
As for restaurants, Hodges Loizzi is, and always shall be, a statewide firm. So this month, we're sharing our Peoria-area and metro-east recommendations. In Peoria, we recommend Jim’s Bistro in Peoria Heights (sadly, June closed many years ago). For metro-east, we recommend Andria’s Steakhouse in O’Fallon. While it’s a steakhouse, they also have excellent seafood (try the swordfish), plus a very good, reasonably priced wine list.
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Have any thoughts about this month's issue? Let us know! Email us at newsletter@hlerk.com Media and restaurant recommendations are welcome.
Thank you for reading the Extra Mile, your gateway to the stability, service, and excellence of Hodges Loizzi. We will write you again in November. In the meantime, check our website for the latest.
The Attorneys and Support Staff of Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn
Stability, Service, Excellence in our 36th year
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The Extra Mile is intended solely to provide information to the school community. It is neither legal advice nor a substitute for legal counsel. It is intended as advertising but not as a solicitation of an attorney/client relationship.
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