The Smoke Free Illinois Act.

The Smoke Free Illinois Act  became effective January 1, 2008, and now prohibits smoking in public places, including public schools, places of employment, and government vehicles. The Act allows fines to be assessed against school districts that fail to comply.  While most of the obligations imposed by the Act are already required under the School Code, one provision now requires schools to post No Smoking signs at each entrance. Please click HERE to download the No Smoking signage.

Moment of Silence Update.
On November 15, 2007, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily barring the Illinois State Board of Education from enforcing the Moment of Silence Law. Judge Gettleman's decision also concludes that there is a "substantial likelihood" that the statute itself is unconstitutional and infringes on students' first amendment rights. A final ruling on the constitutionality of the statute will likely occur in the next several months. Until that time, however, the state cannot enforce this law under the terms of Judge's injunction. The December issue of The Extra Mile will also report on this matter. Contact Nancy Krent with questions regarding the Moment of Silence litigation. For a full text of the decision, click HERE.

Moment of Silence Mandatory in Schools. 
SB 1463 (P.A. 95-0680), adopted by a legislative override of the Governor's earlier veto this summer, amends the current Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act(105 ILCS 20/0.01et seq.) ("Act") to mandate that classroom teachers observe a "brief period of silence" with students "at the opening of every school day." Previously, such moments of silence were merely optional at the discretion of the teacher in charge. The law is effective immediately. The Act has already sparked much controversy among parents who believe the law is inappropriate or unconstitutional. Although the General Assembly was careful to note that this moment of silence is not to be "conducted as a religious exercise," it does state that the time "shall be an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day." Other states, including Texas and Indiana, also have mandatory moments of silence in their schools. School officials have also voiced concerns over implementation of the law, including when to hold the moment of silence, how long it should be held, and what disciplinary action to take if students or staff members refuse to comply. The Illinois State Board of Education has opined that implementation of the new legislation will have to be decided on a local basis. For further details and updates on this law, please contact Terry Hodges or Jeff Goelitz or click HERE for an HLERK overiew of the Act.

New Federal Rules Require Retention of E-mail and Electronic Information.
New revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that went into effect on December 1, 2006, impose significant new obligations on school districts to retain email, instant messages, and other "electronically stored information."Parties to federal litigation - which all too often include school districts - are now required to produce electronically stored information when responding to requests for information in litigation.  Parties are required to put a "litigation hold" on electronically stored information for this purpose, just as they are required to preserve paper files and physical evidence that might be relevant to the litigation. 

Perhaps most importantly, however, commentary to the new Rules states that the obligation to retain electronic information arises as soon as litigation can be "reasonably anticipated," even if litigation has not yet been filed.  This will require school districts to be proactive in formulating and implementing protocols to govern the retention of e-mail and other electronic information.  A proactive approach will also help school districts avoid sanctions in certain circumstances, as the Rules excuse the loss of information "as a result of the routine, good-faith operation of an electronic information system." 

These new Rules will impact every school district that might anticipate being a party to federal litigation at any time in the future - which is to say, unfortunately, every school district in Illinois.  These new Rules also implicate a number of other issues, ranging from the preservation and destruction of records under the Local Records Act  to the production of public records under the Freedom of Information Act  to existing practices that might be set forth in your district's records retention policy. For information on how the new Federal Rules might affect your school district, please contact Rob Swain or Stephanie Jones.