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United States Supreme Court Rejects Parent’s Appeal to Video Tape Special Education Team Meetings
On June 10, 2024, the United States Supreme Court (USSC) denied Scott Pitta’s petition for writ of certiorari. This means that the lower First Circuit ruling, denying parents any claim of entitlement to video tape team meetings, or to treat team meetings as a “public forum”, stands as the law governing this area.
Attorney Peter Mello of Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane successfully defended the Bridgewater/Raynham School District throughout the litigation in the federal courts.
Attorney General Issues an Advisory on the Application of Massachusetts Law to Artificial Intelligence
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) recently issued an Advisory to inform employers, and other users of Artificial Intelligence (AI), about how anti-discrimination and other laws apply to using AI. The Advisory acknowledges the lack of a universally agreed-upon definition of AI and offers the following working definition for its purposes, which is the definition used in President Biden’s October 30, 2023 Executive Order.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ISSUES REVISED TITLE IX REGULATIONS
On April 19, 2024, the United States Department of Education (“DOE”) issued final regulations for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. The new regulations go into effect on August 1, 2024, so school districts are encouraged to review their policies and procedures and provide staff training on these new regulations as soon as possible. The final regulations continue to list specific elements that must be included in any policy, such as range of disciplinary actions, standards of evidence, and procedures. The DOE has provided template policies here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/resource-nondiscrimination-policies.pdf and Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane will be creating model policies and notice letters as well.
Statutory Regulations Released for Interagency Review of Complex Cases
On March 1, 2024, EOHHS and DESE released the long-awaited, final adoption of the regulations governing the Interagency Review of Complex Cases (published as 101 CMR 27.00). These regulations had been anticipated since the Massachusetts Legislature passed “An Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health” in August, 2022.
The purpose of the law is the establishment of a team that will collaborate on complex cases where there is an urgent need to address a lack of consensus between state agencies about the service needs or placement of an individual. This replaces what was known as the Unified Planning Team, or “UPT”.
The co-chairs of the IRT will be the secretary (or a designee) from EOHHS and the commissioner (or a designee) of DESE.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP’s Two New Partners
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP is pleased to announce Attorneys Peter McNulty and Karis North’s promotion to Partner. MHTL is proud to have Attorneys McNulty and North as dedicated members of the firm. Mr. McNulty is one of the firm’s lead attorneys in...
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Attorneys Nominated by Super Lawyers Magazine
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP would like to congratulate Katherine Hesse, Mary Ellen Sowyrda, Peter Mello, and Karis North for being recognized as Massachusetts’ 2023 Super Lawyers. Attorney Hesse is a partner at the firm and was acknowledged for her...
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partners Present at the MMHR Annual Fall Conference
Partners Michael Maccaro and Katherine Hesse of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP presented at the Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources (“MMHR”) Annual Fall Conference on September 21, 2023. Their presentation, titled “Getting to Yes: Collective...
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Welcomes New Associate Attorney
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP is delighted to announce the addition of a new associate attorney. Attorney Ariana Imbrescia graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in May 2021, and joined MHTL in the summer of 2023 as an Associate. Prior...
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Prevails in U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Attorney Felicia Vasudevan, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, received a favorable decision on behalf of her client, Marshfield Public Schools. The Plaintiff appealed the district court’s judgement that upheld a decision of the Massachusetts...
New Features of Public Participation at School Committee Meetings
Following our Alert from March 16, 2023, Civility is Dead – The Supreme Court Rules Municipal Control of Public Speak Limited to Reasonable Time/Place/Manner Restrictions, which discussed the holding to the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Barron v. Kolenda and the Town of Southborough (SJC-13284), we promised to bring you more detailed guidance on developing a Public Speak policy for your public body or municipality. The Barron case involved a constitutional challenge to the Town of Southborough’s public comment policy, which attempted to impose a code of civility on members of the public who participated in public comment before public bodies. In Barron, the court interpreted the state constitution to mean that public bodies may request, but not require, that public commentators be respectful and courteous. Instead, a public body may set restrictions on reasonable time, place, and manner comments to ensure that the meeting retains an orderly and peaceable manner.
United States Supreme Court Rejects Parent's Appeal to Video Tape Special Education Team Meetings
On June 10, 2024, the United States Supreme Court (USSC) denied Scott Pitta’s petition for writ of certiorari. This means that the lower First Circuit ruling, denying parents any claim of entitlement to video tape team meetings, or to treat team meetings as a “public forum”, stands as the law governing this area. Attorney Peter Mello of Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane successfully defended the Bridgewater/Raynham School District throughout the litigation in the federal courts.
United States Supreme Court Rejects Parent's Appeal to Video Tape Special Education Team Meetings
On June 10, 2024, the United States Supreme Court (USSC) denied Scott Pitta’s petition for writ of certiorari. This means that the lower First Circuit ruling, denying parents any claim of entitlement to video tape team meetings, or to treat team meetings as a “public forum”, stands as the law governing this area. Attorney Peter Mello of Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane successfully defended the Bridgewater/Raynham School District throughout the litigation in the federal courts.
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