Harris Beach will be well represented by our Educational Institutions team at the 2021 Western New York Law Conference. The conference will be held virtually on August 10 & 12.
Jeff Weiss will present a Special Education Update from 8:30 – 9:20 a.m. on August 10. A description of the program is below:
Learn strategies to comply with the most recent development in special education including responding to request for compensatory education due to COVID, assessing request for students to remain in school beyond the age of 21, new procedural considerations associated with functional behavioral assessments and independent educational evaluations, mental health needs in the post-COVID world, the benefits of remote services going forward and much more.
Brendan Kelleher will also present on August 10 from 9:30 – 10:20 a.m. His session, The Impact of New York’s Legalization of Cannabis on Schools and the Workplace, is described below:
New York State’s legalization of cannabis for adults is expected to have far reaching legal implications for many institutions, including for our schools and school districts. Brendan Kelleher and Luisa Bostick will discuss the impact that the State’s legalization of cannabis has on employee and student discipline policies and procedures, the New York Labor Law’s protection of legal off-duty activities, the interactive process a school district should engage in upon an employee or student request to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, the policy changes schools and school district will want to consider for students and employees.
Tracie Lopardi will present on August 12 from 8:30 – 9:20 a.m. on The Impact of the Pandemic on Schools. Learn more about her session below:
The pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of school operations, and personnel matters are no exception. While some of the changes districts have experienced will end with the public health crisis, others could have lasting consequences. In the presentation, attorneys will address both the immediate and the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on various labor and employment issues, including: APPR, the timing and manner of student instruction, employee vaccinations, the impact of remote work on reasonable accommodations, school reopening plans, and extra-curricular and athletic stipends. In doing so, they will discuss the extend to which courts, legislators, and administrative agencies have responded to the issues.
Andrew Mark will also present on August 12 from 9:30 – 10:20 a.m. on The Current Legal Landscape Regarding Data Privacy and Security. A description of this session is below:
Join presenters for a discussion regarding how school districts can protect their interests when negotiating and implementing agreements with current or prospective third-party contractors; how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted upon student data privacy and security, specifically as it relates to hybrid and virtual instructional models; and how to assess the security of school district technology systems along with the practical implications of complying with state and federal privacy laws.