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Supreme Court Squeezes "Lemon" One More Time

By Wayne Young posted 06-15-2022
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The landmark case of Lemon v. Kurtzman was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1971. For more than 50 years, federal courts have used the "Lemon Test" to assess whether actions taken by government entities are too heavily infused with or impacted by religious content or influence. The Lemon Test consists of measuring the government action against three standards: Does the action taken have a secular purpose? Does the action have the primary purpose of neither advancing nor inhibiting religion? Does the action create excessive government entanglement with religious practice? The test soon developed multiple critics among the justices, who routinely ...
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Not all COVID side effects are medical

By Wayne Young posted 05-03-2022
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It's inarguable that the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in significant ways forever. Masking, vaccinations, social distancing, handwashing and other health-related elements of managing exposure to the virus have become ingrained in our social interactions. But there are non-medical adjustments to our daily living as well - working from home, food delivery instead of eating at restaurants, and even passing the offering plate at church all now look different. One of the non-medical side effects of COVID has been the central role the virus has begun to play in the political arena. Mask mandates and vaccine requirements have taken center ...
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At the Intersection of COVID and School Choice

By Wayne Young posted 02-08-2022
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The politicization of the COVID pandemic is not a new development. Very early in the now two-year-long COVID journey, divergent views on masks, vaccinations, remote learning and shutdowns became fertile ground for highly charged political conflict. And just as the COVID virus mutated and developed new strains, the political aspects of response to the virus have mutated as well.  One of the emerging battlefronts is the promotion of school privatization as a response to COVID's impact on public schools. Arizona, which has been a hotbed of charter schools and school privatization for two decades, has now stepped to the forefront in advocating the diversion of public ...
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VOTE FRAUD AND EDUCATION REFORM – A WINNING COMBINATION

By Wayne Young posted 12-03-2021
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A recent case of high-tech school-related vote fraud in Florida reminded me of Kentucky’s deep and long history of election irregularities, and of the role vote fraud played (indirectly) in the adoption of Kentucky’s historic 1990 education reform legislation. Laura Carroll, an elementary school vice principal and her daughter, Emily Grover, a high school student, are facing criminal charges for allegedly hacking into a school computer system to rig a homecoming election in Grover’s favor.  According to investigators, Grover got dozens of students’ ID numbers and birthdates from a district-wide computer system using her vice principal mom’s log-in. The pair ...
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"He's baaack!" High-profile school prayer case returns to US Supreme Court

By Wayne Young posted 10-04-2021
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It's not yet to the point where it could be described as habitual practice, but the United State Supreme Court now has before it another high-profile case involving public schools that has yo-yoed up and down within the federal court system for years, and is now making its second appearance before the high court. The court recently refused to hear the case of Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board , a case dealing with rights of transgender students, which the court had before it two times over a seven-year period. Now, the court has been asked for a second time to hear a case dealing with religious activity on school grounds.  The case of Kennedy v. Bremerton ...
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Lawlines: Transgender Timeline Continues, But When Will It End? (by Wayne Young)

By Wanda Darland posted 08-30-2021
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Posted on behalf of Wayne Young, KASA General Counsel Lawlines: Transgender Timeline Continues, But When Will It End? At the KASA Summer Institute in July I presented a school law session. Part of my presentation focused on a timeline detailing the history of transgender litigation and policy decisions over the past several years. Since the presentation, a number of folks have asked me to share with them the timeline I used during the presentation.  Based on these requests, I have decided to share the timeline as part of this blog.  In addition, there has been a new development as well. The timeline is as follows:   October 2014 : Gavin Grimm, ...
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Lawlines: To Vax, or not to Vax

By Wayne Young posted 05-18-2021
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Remember when vaccinations were a health care issue and not a political issue? I do. Actually, vaccinations have been only a health care issue for most of my life. I remember vividly going to the doctor on a regular basis as a child to get my "shots." It was always an adventure because I was very brave and would actually watch the doctor (yes, the doctor!) administer my shots, while my older sister would scream and cry in an unsuccessful effort to avoid her dreaded fate, Only in the recent divisive political climate that seems to now pervade every aspect of our lives have vaccinations become a matter of politics rather than prevention. No less than five pieces ...
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Lawlines: Make It Your Policy to Have a Policy

By Wayne Young posted 04-19-2021
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The universe of school law is made up of constitutional provisions, court decisions, statutes, regulations, and policies. Of these various school law resources, I would take the position that policies are, at the same time, the most neglected, the least understood, and the most important. Kentucky school districts have books full of policies. Local board policies are necessary because the state and federal level legal framework described above is full of gaps, and does not do a good job of addressing the day-to-day operational work of school districts. Kentucky's school leaders are blessed because our colleagues at the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) ...
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Lawlines: "Grimm" Outcome?

By Wayne Young posted 03-15-2021
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The nation's longest-running litigation regarding the status of transgender students in public schools may be one step closer to a final resolution. The case of Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board was filed in 2015 by a transgender student at a Virginia high school. It has moved up and down the ladder of federal trial and appellate courts since then, including a brief appearance before the U. S. Supreme Court, which returned the case to the trial court on procedural grounds for further consideration.  The case has been decided (again) by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the student (rather, former student. Grimm graduated in 2017). The ...
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Lawlines: Is Tinker Retiring?

By Wayne Young posted 02-22-2021
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If you have had a school law class, and maybe even if you haven’t, you’ve likely run across the landmark case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Schools . It is the first and most famous U.S. Supreme Court case addressing student free speech rights in a school setting, involving high school students wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. Tinker can both literally and figuratively be called the “granddaddy” of student free speech cases. First of all, the case is now 52-years old, having been decided in 1969 (The students in the case were 16 when it occurred; I was 15. You do the math!) Every similar case decided by the federal courts ...
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Why doesn’t Frankfort ask local school leaders the best ways to reopen schools?

By Brian Creasman posted 12-08-2020
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The American rendezvous with destiny, by dreaming big, being adventurous, and being undeterred by adversity is in jeopardy. Yes, without question, COVID-19 is dangerous and deadly; but what lies ahead once we overcome this global health pandemic is starting to look more detrimental to students than we ever imagined. Right now, as leaders at the state and national levels appear to be paralyzed, local leaders have had to step up to the plate in ways none could have imagined just a few short months ago. As state and national leaders look for ways to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, schools have become easy targets of criticism and baseless claims that they are ...
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Be Legendary: The Last Two Lessons from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 06-28-2019
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Lesson #12:  Fulfill Your Destiny What is your destiny?  What is your purpose?  Why do you do the things you do every day?  Do you know why you believe what you believe?  It takes a lot of trial by fire to fulfill your destiny, but once you do, you will become unstoppable.  Many never fulfill their destiny because they lack the courage, the patience, the vision, the mental toughness, the desire, and the persistence to do so.  They burn out.  The truth is that we don’t burn out because of what we do.  We burn out because we forget why we do what we do.  Some say they have burned out, but you can’t burn out if you have never been on fire.  We must be persistent ...
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Be Legendary: Lessons #10 and #11 learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 06-01-2019
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Lesson #10:  Know What is Within You, Even If Others Can’t See It Know that greatness is within you and seek to display this greatness.  Know that you were created to do great work.  Remember the hard work that you have put into becoming what you are today.  Believe in yourself and seize the moment.  Jon Gordon shares in Training Camp , “To seize the moment, don’t let your failure define you; let it fuel you.  Don’t run from fear; face it and embrace it.  Don’t let fear rob you of your love and joy; let it push you into the moment and beyond yourself.  Let it inspire you to live and work each day as though it were your last.” Trust that no matter what ...
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Be Legendary: Lessons #8 and #9 learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 04-30-2019
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Lesson #8:  Be Scared of What You Won’t Become Your only fear should be to waste the present moment, this current school year.  If you take the easy route, you will never become what you should be.  This fact should absolutely scare you.  Why do we limit ourselves?  Why do we limit our possibilities?  We need to step out of our comfort zone so that we can become what we were created to be.  We need to give our all.  Athletes talk about “leaving it all on the field or on the court.”  We need to empty our tanks, giving all that we have, so that others can benefit from our actions.  Doug Gloyd, Muhlenberg South Middle School’s Assistant Principal, shares the ...
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Be Legendary: Lesson #7 learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 04-01-2019
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Lesson #7:  Do What They Say You Can’t Many educational leaders share their vision for the road ahead, only to be faced with negativity.  People saying that it can’t be done or that your vision is too crazy, too farfetched.  When it comes to success, many naysayers will tell you that your luck has ran out, you have maxed out, and you can’t get better.  Never let this get you down.  Never let this destroy your vision.  Never let this destroy your belief in your vision.  Believe it can be accomplished.  One sad fact is that some of those who are telling you that it can’t be done may not even be strangers; they can be close friends or colleagues.  If you haven’t ...
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Be Legendary: Lesson #6 learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 03-01-2019
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Lesson #6:  Work Before Glory The best leaders are humble and don’t really care about the glory.  It’s all about the work you produce.  Your hard work will not go unnoticed.  Pride yourself in your work, rather than yourself.  Take pride in those who work with you.  Praise them before praising yourself.  I believe that if you have to constantly tell others how great you are, then you are probably the only one who thinks you are great.  NBA great, David Robinson, once said, “Players who seek their own glory at the sacrifice of the team’s glory drive the team away from success.  The goal is not our own glory.”  Don’t chase glory.  Don’t chase greatness.  Work ...
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Be Legendary: Lesson #5 learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 02-06-2019
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Lesson #5:  Take Everything Given to You and Make Something Better Education is constantly changing.  We face changes and challenges each and every day.  Government officials change, the accountability system changes, new mandates are passed down, staff retire, students change.  None of these changes can cause us to lose our focus, and keep us from making our school or district better.  When challenges arise, we can choose to get better, rather than getting bitter.  We can look at our successes and realize that we have made our school/district better.  We have made our students better.  We have overcome challenges before and will overcome the next set of challenges ...
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Be Legendary: Lesson #4 Learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 01-02-2019
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Lesson #4:  Don’t Break When Broken It is said that what goes up must come down.  However, educational leaders must make sure that their school/district does not go down after experiencing success.  We must make continual improvement our goal, both for ourselves and our employees.  The school year is a roller-coaster ride like none other.  At times, educators will feel broken inside and figure that it is time to give up.  DON’T!  Educators will get frustrated…with colleagues, with students, with the district, and with the system as a whole.  Don’t let it break you.  Lean on one another.  Encourage one another.  We must focus on our successes, no matter how ...
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Be Legendary: Have the Courage to Fail

By Brian Lile posted 11-30-2018
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Be Legendary:  Lessons Learned from Michael Jordan Lesson #3:  Have the Courage to Fail Effective leaders make the best decisions possible with the information and time given.  However, leaders do make mistakes and it is vital to admit these mistakes.  We need to understand that failure is a part of life, but having the courage to face it head on is what makes you stronger.  I love the quote by Henry Ford that says, “Those who never make mistakes work for those of us who do.”  We need to be willing to take risks and step out of our comfort zones to see the endless possibilities ahead of us.  We have all heard people say, “It’s okay to fail.”  However, there ...
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Be Legendary: Lessons Learned from Michael Jordan

By Brian Lile posted 11-08-2018
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This school year we have set our sights on “Being Legendary.”  Over the next few months, I will be blogging about what it takes to “Be Legendary,” using lessons learned from an ad campaign of Nike starring Michael Jordan.  If you want to make a difference, if you truly want to be legendary, I hope that something shared over the next several months will be of benefit to you. Lesson #1:  It’s About Knowing Where You’re Going An effective leader has a clear vision and the ability to inspire others to believe in the vision.  If you have had the great opportunity to be a part of The Leadership Challenge , you have learned that one of the five practices of ...
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