Notre Dame cancels classes for 2 weeks after COVID-19 spike
The University of Notre Dame on Tuesday canceled in-person undergraduate classes for two weeks after a spike of coronavirus cases that occurred after the semester began Aug. 10.
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Split COA reverses state ruling against 3 teacher union contracts
A divided appellate panel Wednesday overturned the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board’s final decisions that three contracts negotiated and ratified by Indiana teachers unions and their respective school employers did not comply with state law.
Delta High, Middle Schools close amid COVID-19 quarantines
An eastern Indiana school district that sent 228 students home to quarantine to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 has shuttered its middle and high schools for 14 days and switched to remote learning.
Report blames Daleville in online school enrollment fraud
State auditors have determined a central Indiana school district should repay $2.2 million for failing to properly supervise two online charter schools accused of padding their enrollments by about 14,000 students over eight years.
Indiana state superintendent says schools can safely reopen
Indiana’s top education official said Thursday that she think schools can safely reopen despite mounting reports of students and staffers testing positive for the coronavirus within days of returning to the classroom in some districts.
Indiana officials say attending school, voting can be done safely
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state officials defended brick-and-mortar school reopenings Wednesday despite mounting reports of students and education staff testing positive for the coronavirus since returning to school statewide. The governor also resisted calls to expand voting by mail in the November general election.
Teachers union backs strike if schools can’t reopen safely
Indiana’s second-largest teacher organization announced Tuesday that its members may resort to striking to ensure a safe return to school as the state continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Notre Dame Law’s Religious Liberty Clinic expects broad reach
Notre Dame Law School’s new Religious Liberty Clinic is designed to train lawyers in all practice areas to grapple with issues of religious freedom. “It’s critical that if we fight for freedom of religion, it’s for freedom of all religious faiths or no faith at all,” Dean G. Marcus Cole said.
IndyBar: Overview of U.S.C. §529 College Savings Plans for Indiana Estate Planners
Named after the Internal Revenue Code section that governs them, Section 529 College Savings Plans (529 Plans) are higher-education savings plan trusts established under section 529(b) of the Internal Revenue Code as “qualified tuition programs.” 529 Plans offer tremendous benefits when planning for educational expenses.
IndyBar: The Parents are Not Alright — Adding E-Learning to a Full Plate
2020. Who would have thought that one year could change so many things? Things we thought were certain, nonnegotiable, and established norms as lawyers were cast aside along with vacation plans, professional sports and pants with buttons. This fall will bring even more uncertainty into our lives as we send our children back to school.
Indiana students begin in-person returns to schools
For many Indiana students who returned to classrooms this week for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak forced schools to transition to remote learning last March, the school day offered a mixed bag of emotions, anxiety and plenty of new health-related protocols.
Holcomb urges virus safety steps, not tougher rules; will extend eviction moratorium
Indiana will keep its current coronavirus restrictions in place for at least most of August, with Gov. Eric Holcomb choosing Wednesday to encourage compliance with safety measures amid continued concerns about recent growth in the state’s COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Holcomb also said he would briefly extend a moratorium on evictions that was scheduled to expire this week.
Faulty bar exam software tossed in favor of emails, open books
The Indiana Supreme Court issued an order Wednesday again revamping the July 2020 bar exam, opting to send test questions by email and allowing applicants to refer to notes and course materials during the test. The test is still scheduled to be administered remotely Tuesday under the new format.
Law schools expecting enrollment to remain steady
Despite the upheaval and uncertainty the pandemic has created for legal education, law school admissions officers are confident the first-year class entering in the fall of 2020 will be the same size, if not bigger, than the class that started in the fall of 2019.
Democratic governor candidate wants masks in Indiana schools
The Democratic nominee for Indiana governor called Tuesday for more widespread mask use in schools and for school leaders to turn more toward online coursework rather than having students return to classrooms in the coming weeks.
Notre Dame sued after student’s fall causes ‘catastrophic’ injury
The parents of a University of Notre Dame freshman severely injured in a 2019 fall in a campus dormitory during a party filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the school, which they claim condoned a “quasi-fraternity atmosphere” at an on-campus residence hall.
‘As good as, but different’: Law schools prepare to welcome students
After the COVID-19 outbreak upended the spring semester and forced everyone to shift to online learning, Indiana’s law schools are preparing to welcome students and faculty back into their buildings for a fall semester that will be unlike any other.
Mom wins federal ruling against Carmel schools in son’s special education case
A Carmel mother is celebrating a federal court ruling that concluding that the public school district had denied her son a free and appropriate education since January 2018 and May 2018, in part by failing to ensure he received his special education and related services. The family attorney says the case sets precedent for parents whose special-needs children rely on individual education plans.
Holcomb extends coronavirus limits as cases grow
Indiana’s current limits on crowd sizes for restaurants, bars and public events will remain in place until at least the end of July as the state faces a growing number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday.
Evansville bench, bar backing words on racial injustice with actions
The Evansville Bar Association has put forward a detailed plan to address the problems of racial inequality and injustice by not only educating local legal professionals but also fostering a conversation within the larger community.