District court directed to issue injunction requiring San Jose USD to reinstate ASB club status

Editor’s Note: The following blog post contains a technical analysis of a recent decision in Fellowship of Christian Athletes v. San Jose Unified School District. The main blog post is prefaced with a brief summary designed for those without legal training. The heart of the […]

California Attorney General files complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief against Chino Valley USD

On Aug. 28, 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a complaint in California Superior Court, San Bernardino County, requesting a declaration that Chino Valley Unified School District’s new policy, Policy 5020.1, is unconstitutional under the California Constitution and/or state law. The complaint also asks […]

Supreme Court sets new standard for employers to provide religious accommodations

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Groff v. DeJoy, which relates to religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on, among other protected categories, religion. The law imposes an obligation […]

Superior Court rules State Board of Education abused its authority in overturning local charter denials

In January 2023, CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance (ELA) filed writ of mandate seeking to invalidate the State Board of Education’s (SBE) decision to grant the appeal of the petition for Mayacamas Charter School, which overturned the decisions by both the Napa Valley Unified School District […]

Legal update: ELA to file amicus brief in support of trustees in Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliff

In CSBA’s winter 2022 magazine, the Legal Team provided a summary of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliff, which held that the decision of two school board members to block some constituents from accessing private social media accounts used by […]

Legal update: State officials weigh in on removal of library books and instructional materials from school settings

On June 1, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond issued a joint letter related to book bans and the legal standards that guide decisions related to limiting instructional materials and resources available in school libraries. […]