Legal News

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Title IX

November 15, 2018 - The Department of Education issued its proposed rulemaking on Title IX sexual misconduct for  the 60-day required public comment period.  The proposed rules outline schools' obligations under Title IX and how the Department will evaluate schools' compliance with those obligations.  Once the 60-day comment period expires, the Department will review the comments received before publication of the final rules.  The Department has extended the comment period through January 30, 2019.

Passage of Proposal 1 Legalizing Marijuana in Michigan

November 6, 2018 - Voters approved the passage of Proposal 1, which legalizes recreational marijuana use and possession by individuals 21 years and older in the State of Michigan.  Please see the Policy Statement and related FAQs issued by the University on the Passage of Proposal 1.

Higher Education Institutions and Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

March 2018 - Fact Sheet #17S: Higher Education Institutions and Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) issued by U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. 

Video Of An Incident is Considered An Education Record Under FERPA

December 7, 2017 - Video of eight students involved in an incident is considered an education record of each of the students who were disciplined as part of the incident.  Therefore, FERPA requires school to allow individual parent(s) of a student (or the student) disciplined for incident to inspect and review the video depicting incident, so long as the video cannot be segregated and redacted without destroying its meaning.

State Appeals Court Upholds University's Ban on Guns

June 6, 2017 - Michigan Court of Appeals' opinion upholding a University of Michigan policy banning firearms on university property. The Court found that MCL 123.1102, the Michigan state statute limiting regulations on firearms by local units of government, did not apply to the University since it is a state-level entity, and not a local unit of government such as a city, town, or village.

Department Of Education Issues New Guidance On Student Medical Records Under FERPA

August 24, 2016 - This letter provides guidance on the protection of student medical records under FERPA especially in cases involving litigation between the school and student.  The department encourages schools to inform students of the protections afforded to their medical records under the relevant law and school policies.  It also discusses the school official exception to consent in the context of when counseling and medical records can be disclosed to treat assessment teams.

Department Of Labor Adopts New Unpaid Intern Test

January, 2018 - This fact sheet issued by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division provides general information to help determine whether interns and students working for "for-profit" employers are entitled to minimum wages and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA").  The fact sheet outlines the seven factors "primary beneficiary test" used to determine whether an intern, or student, is an employee under the FLSA.  The "primary beneficiary test" replaces the six factor test previously used by the department.

Department Of Education Issues New Interim Q&A on Title IX And Sexual Misconduct

September 22, 2017 - Interim Q&A on Campus Sexual Misconduct issued by the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, detailing how it will assess compliance with Title IX after rescinding the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter and 2014 Q&A and until formal rulemaking on schools' Title IX responsibilities is complete.

Department of Education Withdraws Previous Guidance Documents On Title IX and Sexual Violence

September 22, 2017 - Dear Colleague Letter issued by the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, withdrawing its 2011 Dear Colleague Letter and 2014 Q&A on Title IX and Sexual Violence effectively rescinding the policy and guidance statements within those documents.