Photo of Dori Pagé Antonetti

Dori Pagé Antonetti is a member of the School Law Practice Group where she represents a wide range of educational institutions, including both public and independent k-12 schools in a variety of education and employment law matters.  In her day-to-day representation of clients, Dori draws on her unique experience as a former educator for Teach for America.  This experience, coupled with her time as a hearing review officer for the New York City Office of Labor Relations, allows Dori to analyze issues from a practical perspective, which brings significant advantages to her clients.

Most recently, Dori’s practice has focused on assisting school districts and independent schools with various aspects of COVID-19 pandemic response and preparedness and return-to-school planning.  Dori has provided guidance on the requirements and implementation of ever-evolving federal and state laws and guidelines in various areas, such as employee leave, vaccine mandates, mask rules, health and safety protocols, telehealth, and sports-related issues.

Dori is a thoughtful attorney who has astute peripheral vision which allows her to help school clients identify legal issues and develop creative solutions.  She is attentive to detail, careful, and thorough.  Dori has extensive experience in policy development and review, and enjoys helping clients ensure that their policies and regulations are legally compliant, clearly written, and accomplish their intended purpose.  She also regularly advises schools on their obligations and responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.  For independent school clients, Dori has extensive experience drafting and revising enrollment contracts, faculty/staff handbooks, employment contracts and advising on issues such as truth-in-lending obligations, federal funding, vaccine policies and exemption issues.

Last Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) exceeded its authority when it issued a final regulation significantly raising salary thresholds for the executive, administrative, and professional exemption, and it vacated the regulation nationwide.  That means employers will no longer be required to ensure their white-collar salaried employees

On April 24, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published its much-anticipated final rule regarding website and mobile app accessibility for state and local governments.  The new rule, which implements Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), has specific requirements to ensure that web content and mobile apps are accessible to and

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court considered whether James Freed, a city manager who maintained a “mixed use” Facebook account on which he posted information about his personal life and his job, violated the First Amendment and was subject to liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) when he deleted comments with which he

The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) setting forth technical requirements for state and local government websites and apps to make them more accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Guidance Issued in 2022

In our March 2022

On March 18, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued new Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (the “Guidance”). The Guidance provides considerations for state and local governments, schools, and businesses to keep in mind when ensuring that their websites comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Indeed, the DOJ has consistently taken

On April 28, 2021, Governor Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-6, An Act Concerning Immunizations, which took effect the same day.  As we discussed in our prior post, the new law eliminates the religious exemption from school immunization requirements for both public and private school students, although certain students will be allowed

On May 9, 2021, the Connecticut State Department of Education released guidance regarding the American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (“ARP ESSER Guidance”).  The ARP ESSER Guidance explains state-level priorities for the use of such funds and encourages districts to think boldly and create transformative programs for students. 

On April 28, 2021, Governor Lamont signed into law House Bill 6423, An Act Concerning Immunizations, which took effect the same day.  The new law modifies an existing law, Section 10-204a of the Connecticut General Statutes, which had allowed students enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade to be exempt from statutory immunization requirements based

Earlier in the pandemic, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which has two main components: the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“FMLA+”).  Shortly before those new provisions became effective, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) provided additional guidance on both the

Across Connecticut, and in other parts of the country, many students are returning to hybrid instructional models this week. This raises the question for employers, including school districts, of whether these schools are “closed” for reasons related to COVID-19 on remote learning days, and, if so, whether employees are entitled to paid Families First Coronavirus