education – Page 3 – Coronavirus (COVID-19)

March 25, 2020 by Duane Morris

U.S. Department of Education Issues Additional COVID-19 Guidance in Form of FAQs

In response to pressing questions from institutions, on March 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) offered guidance permitting temporary flexibility and clarifying how higher education institutions whose activities are impacted by COVID-19 can continue to comply with Title IV of the Higher Education Act and its implementing regulations (“Title IV”) . Read our client alert on the guidance.

To read the full post by Duane Morris attorney Tanvi Shah, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog.

March 21, 2020September 2, 2020 by Duane Morris

California Education Institutions Exempted from Statewide Stay-at-Home Order

Governor Newsom’s Stay-at-Home Order requires “all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.” The Order exempted “16 critical infrastructure sectors whose . . . incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, economic security, public health, or any combination thereof.”

We all intuitively know academic institutions fit this description, and the Order agrees: “Government Facilities” are included as one of those 16 critical infrastructure sectors, and the cited-to guidance in the Order confirms that this includes an “Education Facilities Subsector [that] covers pre-kindergarten through 12th grade schools, institutions of higher education, and business and trade schools. The subsector includes facilities that are owned by both government and private sector entities.”

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris attorney Bryce Young, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED blog.

March 18, 2020August 28, 2020 by Duane Morris

Department of Education Issues Guidance on Safeguarding Civil Rights During COVID-19 Pandemic

As with all crises, this pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation that is forcing schools to quickly implement new policies and practices, often operating on limited information and without the usual procedural safeguards and vetting. Such an environment creates a risk of the unintended consequences of those new policies/procedures resulting in potentially discriminatory effects to students.

Recognizing this risk, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights published guidance on March 16, 2020, reminding schools that students’ civil rights must be safeguarded during responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. OCR’s guidance encourages schools to take measures to protect against COVID-19, but to do so in a manner that is free from discrimination and continues to accommodate people with disabilities.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

March 12, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

U.S. Dept. of Education Issues COVID-19 Guidance to Schools

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that institutions of higher education consider postponing or canceling upcoming study abroad or foreign exchange programs. However, this advice has raised pressing questions about how this would affect Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA) federal financial aid and a student’s ability to finish the term if a program is interrupted or canceled. In response, on March 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) offered guidance permitting temporary flexibility and clarifying how higher education institutions can continue to comply with Title IV regulations for students whose activities are impacted by COVID-19.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.