Practices
School Law
Public and Charter Schools

Public and Charter Schools

The School Law lawyers at Shipman offer our clients effective and efficient solutions to any and all problems they confront in operating our schools. We combine over forty years of experience in matters of school law with the resources of a large firm and expertise in all areas of the law, including business contracts, environmental law, intellectual property, litigation and employment law. Our clients include over 100 public school districts, charter schools, magnet schools, and other educational entities, as well as related organizations and associations. In addition, our lawyers teach, and regularly write and speak on school law matters. Our broad experience and our academic and other professional activities permit us to assist our school law clients in the full range of education law matters promptly and cost-effectively, offering elegant solutions.

Our lawyers are key members of the educational community in Connecticut. We are often called upon to counsel and make presentations to the National School Boards Association, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, the Connecticut Association of School Business Officials, the Connecticut Association of Schools and the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. We teach school law at the Neag School of Education at UCONN, at the UCONN School of Law, and at the School of Law and School of Education of Quinnipiac University. Thomas Mooney, Co-Chair of our School Law group, wrote and regularly updates A Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law, a comprehensive treatise on Connecticut school law that is now in the Tenth Edition. Given our work with the majority of Connecticut’s boards of education and virtually every professional association supporting our schools, we have unparalleled access to the State’s education network to assist our school district and charter school clients in meeting the challenges that they confront.

By way of example, our work on behalf of our school law clients includes the following:

Board Operation

Comprehensive governance policies are essential to the successful operation of a school district. To serve our clients, we have developed model policies in all areas where policies are legally required, and a number of our clients rely on those model policies to comply with statutory changes and requirements. This extensive collection of sample policies on student and faculty topics covers everything from bullying prevention to school district budgets to crisis response. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all stakeholders have the right policies in place to save each district valuable time and resources. A library of model policies is available by subscription for public and charter schools. If you are a subscriber, click to access the portal and login using your credentials. If you are not a subscriber but would like more information about Shipman's Model Policy service, please contact Dori Antonetti at dantonetti@goodwin.com.

Additionally, a cross-disciplinary team of Shipman lawyers review and draft school business, enrollment, admissions, food service and transportation contracts, and ensure compliance with important contractual requirements. Our lawyers are often called upon to analyze complicated contracts with educational software and app developers to comply with federal law and Connecticut’s nuanced Student Data Privacy laws.

Special Education

When dealing with sensitive special education matters, we place significant emphasis on preserving the parent/school relationship. We understand that our clients’ goal is to meet the needs of students and work collaboratively with parents and caregivers. We therefore emphasize a proactive approach to special education and related civil rights issues. We often counsel clients behind the scenes to address issues before they become disputes, and frequently provide training and professional development to administrators and teaching and support staff about legal requirements and best practices. We have been on the leading edge helping districts respond to myriad challenges they continue to face in meeting their obligations under the IDEA as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have represented our school clients in hundreds of hearings over the last 40 years, and we are experienced in special education disputes, including representing clients in PPT meetings, mediations, due process hearings and federal court litigation. We also assist schools in responding to and resolving complaints with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the United States Department of Education, which enforces Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as several other federal civil rights laws, such as Title IX and Title VI, as well as State complaints filed with the Connecticut State Department of Education. In addition, our extensive knowledge of the interplay of special education statutes and regulations with Connecticut student discipline laws allow us to advise schools on difficult disciplinary matters involving special education students. In this highly emotional area of law, we work to resolve the vast majority of cases amicably, but are experienced and prepared to litigate such cases, from hearings through court appeals, when necessary.

Student Matters

We have extensive experience representing schools in all legal matters concerning students. Such legal issues include, but are not limited to discrimination and harassment complaints involving sex/gender, race, disability, national origin and other protected classes; confidentiality of education records; special education; student discipline; student data privacy; and school climate (bullying, hazing, etc.). Due to our experience, we are often consulted by the State Department of Education concerning the development of frequently asked questions on all manner of student matters, and most recently on bullying, restraint and seclusion.

We frequently advise schools on constitutional issues involving students, including those under the First Amendment, involving freedom of speech and religion; the Fourth Amendment, involving search and seizure; and the Fourteenth Amendment, involving due process. School districts throughout Connecticut have adopted our model student policies reflecting the latest statutory and case law developments. In addition to providing legal advice on these matters, we provide trainings and updates on legal developments to promote understanding of, and legal compliance with, the law.

Teacher Employment, Evaluation and Dismissal

We guide our public school district, regional school district, RESCS, and charter school clients in Connecticut with matters related to teacher employment, evaluation, dismissal and non-renewal. We have successfully assisted many of our clients in navigating through challenging investigations and discipline matters, including interfacing with the teachers’ unions as appropriate. Our knowledgeable lawyers provide guidance as to documentation of investigations, progressive discipline, evaluations, observations, and intensive assistance plans. In circumstances where dismissal or non-renewal is the appropriate outcome of a personnel matter, we assist with tenure-related questions, tenure- and non-tenure hearings, and separation agreements. We also provide counsel and strategy in addressing any related public relations matters that may arise in the course of investigation, disciplinary, or dismissal issues.

Employer Obligations

We advise schools on the full complement of employment matters, including but not limited to wage and hour laws, FMLA, and unemployment compensation. We review employee handbooks and board policies to assure compliance with state and federal laws. In addition, we represent schools in all areas of labor relations, including union activities, contract negotiation and administration, and we represent schools in tenure hearings as well as in grievance hearings before the American Arbitration Association and the Connecticut State Board of Mediation and Arbitration. We also represent schools before the State Board of Labor Relations, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the courts, as well as alternative dispute resolution venues.

Collective Bargaining

We have a wealth of experience at the bargaining table for both certified and non-certified negotiations. We work collaboratively with our school clients to identify their key priorities educationally, operationally and fiscally, and we then strive to negotiate collective bargaining agreements serving those priorities. Our representation of over 100 Connecticut school districts and many Connecticut municipalities allows us to provide our clients with timely information regarding negotiating trends, cost projections and comparative data in order to ensure that our clients make well-informed decisions throughout the collective bargaining process. We have successfully resolved hundreds of collective bargaining agreements at the bargaining table and through the mediation process. Where necessary, we are fully prepared to pursue our clients’ goals to arbitration, and we have extensive experience in interest arbitration proceedings.

Experience

Higher education

General Employment Counseling and Human Resource Audits

Employment counsel to educational institutions, including higher education and public and private schools, regarding myriad employment matters, such as hiring, discipline and termination issues. Representation includes Human Resources Audits of systems and employment policies to mitigate client risk.

Successful Representation in Civil Litigation

Represent colleges, universities and public school districts in education and employment litigation, with a focus on navigating to dismissal or successful resolution when in the client’s best interest.

Public and charter schools

Successful Representation of Public School in DCF Investigation

Represented large public school district in successfully appealing erroneous decision by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

Representation before the Office for Civil Rights

Public Schools

Represented public school district in responding to and resolving claims of discrimination filed with OCR. Working with the school and OCR, we were able to have claims dismissed and negotiated an agreement that was favorable to the district.