The following is from the ACLU..

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate’s uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago.

“We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognized that school officials had no reason to strip search Savana Redding and that the decision to do so was unconstitutional,” said Adam Wolf, an attorney with the ACLU who argued the case before the Court. “Today’s ruling affirms that schools are not constitutional dead zones. While we are disappointed with the Court’s conclusion that the law was not clear before today and therefore school officials were not found liable, at least other students will not have to go through what Savana experienced.”

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It appears as though the case against four Mahopac educators accused of child endangerment may finally be moving along.

The next court date is scheduled for August 5 in Philipstown. At that time, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe said it is expected that the cases against Joseph Levy and Lorrie Reynolds will be adjourned for six months, and if there are no further problems, then the charges against them will be dismissed.

Also at that time, it is expected that … Read more of this entry »

The lawyer for Maria Pearson, a math teacher at Woodlands Middle School in the Greenburgh school district, said a state report clears his client of allegations she provided inappropriate assistance to students taking a state math exam.

Pearson, who has worked in the district for eight years, did not provide answers or help students with any answers on the March test, according to a report from the Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which investigated the allegations.

“We take (the report) ... Read more of this entry »

Schools throughout Westchester took part in Read Across America Day, organizing various activities to encourage students to read and parents to read to them at an early age. In most districts, teachers, administrators and special guests read to large groups of children. Those duties were handled at School 23 in Yonkers by Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio, Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore and Mayor Phil Amicone, among others.

In Greenburgh, the event was billed as the No Excuses Reading Festival, in which more … Read more of this entry »

Yonkers International Baccalaureate High School students took home top honors at this week’s 2009 Westchester County Mock Trial Competition sponsored by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

Five Yonkers high schools participated in the three-day competition – Yonkers, Lincoln, Gorton, Saunders and Roosevelt.  Lincoln’s team also advanced to the finals.  Our students presented strong arguments in the courtroom that helped them explore legality, civics, persuasive writing, and presentation skills.

Scott Valk, coached the winning Yonkers High School Team: Amjad Alomary, Breyanna Faulkner, ... Read more of this entry »

A coalition of groups related to the public health industries and environmental concerns recently filed a law suit in federal court against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its administrator, Stephen L. Johnson.

The suit charges that the agency and its administrator have failed to enforce regulations setting air pollution standards for existing coal- and oil-fired electricity generators by Dec. 20, 2002, and their negligence is harming school children who live near those plants. It asks that new standards be put … Read more of this entry »

Rockland County Assistant District Attorney Joanna DeVito last night requested that the case against four Mahopac educators accused of child endangerment be moved to a different venue because of potential conflicts of interests with the Carmel Town Court justices, according to the Town Court clerk.

The specific venue and next appearance date have not yet been decided. The motion is expected to be filed shortly with the court, and hopefully that will contain more details. I’ll keep you posted…

UPDATE: I just … Read more of this entry »

Westchester Community College has invited Attorney Robin Bikkal to discuss immigration policies and to give her perspective on what new policies may be on the horizon.

Her discussion, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Nov. 19 in the college’s library, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla.

A judge last night adjourned the case against four Mahopac educators accused of child endangerment until next month.

Allegations against the educators, who worked in the former Bridge Program for special-needs students at Mahopac Falls Elementary School, range from using degrading nicknames for the children to forcing them to eat and causing them to choke, among other claims of mistreatment.

It has also been charged that the head teacher assaulted a student by causing him to fall to the ground and injure … Read more of this entry »

RAMAPO — Rockland Community College’s paralegal program will be holding an open house Thursday, Aug. 21. Student can sign up for classes and learn about the program, including internships and job opportunities. The program, taught by paralegals and attorneys, offers a post-degree certificate or an associate of applied science in paralegal studies. The open house will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in room 3214 on the second floor of the college’s Student Union building. For more information, ... Read more of this entry »

At the risk of sounding flip, I must say I was shocked at the press release that came across my fax this morning. The headline:
GOVERNOR PATERSON AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT ON LEGISLATION TO BAN TEACHERS CONVICTED OF SEX CRIMES AND ADMINISTRATORS WHO DEFRAUD THE GOVERNMENT
I mean, that’s not exactly a tough decision to make. Our first thought here in the office was something along the lines of, “Gee? Are they against hit-and-run drivers and killing puppies, too?”

But as I read the release, what struck me more than the fact that it seemed like a no brainer was that the governor and Legislature had to actually pass such a law. And that it hadn’t been passed long ago.

Basically, the legislation — which went into effect immediately — provides “for the automatic revocation of a teaching certificate held by any school official convicted of a sex offense, as well as legislation providing for the automatic revocation of an administrator’s license upon conviction for defrauding the government.”

Under the law, District Attorneys are required to notify the state Education Department “when teachers, school administrators or other professional educators are convicted of sexual offenses that require them to register on the state’s Sex Offender Registry.” Ditto for administrators convicted of fraud. The department “will then immediately revoke these licenses.”

The law as it stood did not allow the state to automatically revoke licenses or fire teachers or administrators so convicted.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno put it quite succinctly:
This is a commonsense protection for taxpayers. These bills will eliminate lengthy hearings to determine whether or not these criminals deserve to keep their jobs.
The bills take effect immediately.

Makes sense to me.

What all the talking heads had to say, after the jump.

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Ardsley Schools Trustee Stephanie Marquesano, who has been at the center of a controversy surrounding reported threats made by her son to students at the middle school, yesterday resigned her post at a board meeting.

In a one-sentence letter submitted to the Board of Education, Marquesano said she was resigning from the board because of personal reasons, Interim Superintendent Jason Friedman said this afternoon. The resignation is effective immediately, Friedman said, though the board won’t officially act on it until its … Read more of this entry »

My colleague Steve Lieberman reports that…

Nyack — Six high school seniors will share $5,000 in college scholarships on Saturday through a fund named for two Nyack officers murdered in the line of duty.The O’Grady-Brown Scholarship Awards breakfast starts at 10 a.m. at the Nyack Seaport. The keynote speaker will be Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.

The college scholarship fund was established in 1990 in memory of Sgt. Edward O’Grady and Officer Waverly “Chipper” Brown.

Each year the fund awards scholarships to college-bound … Read more of this entry »

Pace University School of Law has named a new dean: Professor Michelle Simon.

Just got the news from Pace, which conducted a national search. Her appointment is effective as of May 18.

Simon’s been interim dean since June 4, 2007. That’s when the previous dean, Stephen J. Friedman, became president of the university.

Here’s the press release, from Pace (it’s a little lengthy, so the second part is after the jump:
After a national search, Pace University has appointed Michelle S. Simon dean of its law school. A member of the faculty since 1985 and a full professor since 2003, Simon is an expert in legal writing, criminal law and civil procedure as well as a former practicing attorney. The appointment became effective May 18, 2008.

Simon has served as interim dean since June 4, 2007, when she succeeded Stephen J. Friedman, who became president of Pace University.

In announcing Simon’s selection, Friedman pointed out that Simon is the first dean of the 32-year-old school to be chosen from the faculty. “This is a reflection of the maturity of the law school and the high quality of its faculty,” he said. Friedman is a former SEC commissioner and senior partner in Debevoise Plimpton LLC.

Simon may represent another “first” as well – the first law school dean who started as a professor of legal writing. In recent years this essential part of legal practice has received increased emphasis in legal education. Before her appointment as interim dean, Simon had served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and, after returning to full-time teaching, was Director of the law school’s programs in legal writing and judicial studies. Pace is one of the few law schools where legal writing is taught by full-time, tenured faculty members. The school’s approach introduces students to the core skills of writing as lawyers in combination with the first-year course in criminal law.

Simon also has taken a leadership role in developing study techniques that have raised the rate at which full-time Pace Law graduates pass the New York State Bar Exam on their first try from 69 percent in 2001 to 87 percent in 2007.

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Statement from State Education Commissioner Richard Mills:

Many people are expressing concern about whether school officials who have retired and are collecting a pension should in fact be allowed to return to work under a statutory waiver and also draw a salary.

I am responsible for the administration of this waiver process with respect to retired school educators. Where I need to improve the administration of this law, I will do so.

This practice is allowed under statute in … Read more of this entry »