Anne Littlefield is Co-Chair of the firm's School Law Practice Group and a member of the firm's seven-person Management Committee. Anne represents public school districts and charter schools in labor relations, employment and education law; including collective bargaining, personnel policies and practices, constitutional law, special education, student discipline, freedom of information, and education policies. She negotiates collective bargaining agreements on behalf of schools. She has represented numerous boards of education before special education due process hearing officers, the Freedom of Information Commission, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration and the State Board of Labor Relations.
- Quinnipiac University School of Law: Adjunct Professor, Education Law
- Western New England College School of Law: Adjunct Professor, Education Law (former)
- Quinnipiac University Educational Leadership Program: Adjunct Professor, Education Law
- American Bar Association
- Connecticut Bar Association: Education Law Committee; Legislative Liaison
- Rhode Island Bar Association
- National School Boards Association: Council of School Attorneys
- Connecticut School Attorneys Council: Former President
- Hartford Association of Women Attorneys
- Leadership Greater Hartford
School-Based Bonus for Teachers Negotiated
Acted as Chief Negotiator for the Hartford Board of Education in teacher negotiations during 2007. These negotiations led to an agreement to institute a school-based performance bonus for teachers, based on whether individual schools make significant gains in improving students' test scores.
Interest Arbitration Proceedings for Boards of Education
Successfully represented board of education clients in interest arbitration proceedings concerning the payment of teacher incentives under a grant program called Project Opening Doors ("POD"). The decisions cleared the way for our clients to receive grant funding.
The respective teacher unions objected to incentive payments being made to teachers on the basis of student performance. As the boards and the unions were not able to reach agreements regarding the payment of these incentives under the grant program, three person arbitration panels were appointed in accordance with statutory procedures to determine whether such incentives would be paid.
Both arbitration panels determined that the POD program, including the incentive payments to teachers, served the public interest by promoting higher achievement for minority students. Based on work by our school and labor lawyers and staff, as well as information from Connecticut’s then Commissioner of Education Dr. Mark McQuillan (who has referred to POD a “blessing” that will help “transform our secondary school system in a very significant way”), both arbitration panels permitted the POD grants to be awarded to the boards, including the disputed incentive payments.