What We Do
The Office handles a diverse mixture of legal matters on behalf of the District. Such legal services include the drafting and reviewing of contracts, resolutions, and policies; defending civil actions and administrative proceedings at all levels of state and federal courts and the Department of Administrative Hearings; providing legal advice on a regular basis on all matters concerning the operation of the District; and providing training and compliance programs. The Office of General Counsel is not legal counsel to parents, students, or the general public and does not advise individual citizens.
A few more examples of what we do:
- Legal articles in the Legally Speaking newsletter for principals and department heads
- Advising the Board at meetings and workshops
- Early negotiating and drafting with department heads to develop a better contract process
- Training for schools and departmental staff
- Rendering prompt oral legal advice and recommendations to schools and departments, to encourage legal compliance and risk avoidance
- Early identification of risk avoidance through establishment of the Risk Management Roundtable
- Researching complex legal issues to provide written opinions for the Board and administrators
- Drafting legally-sufficient contracts
- Reviewing contracts before District personnel agree to enter or recommend entering the contract
- Assisting other departments to meet their objectives with respect to matters having legal ramifications
- Legal review of all agenda items and reports before Board meetings
- Advising Board members and administrators regarding legal aspects of agenda items
- Recommending changes in policies and practices in accordance with law
- Reviewing and editing proposed Policies to ensure consistency with state and federal law
- Providing broad public notice before development of Policies
- Keeping the Policies web site current with recently-adopted or revised Policies
- Meeting regularly with District’s ESE director to identify and review potential legal issues
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- Providing legal training and compliance workshops for charter school administration
- Attending administrative committee meetings to provide a legal support
- Attending meetings of advisory committees and ad hoc committees to provide a legal framework
- For truancy issues, providing schools and the State Attorney’s Office with legal support and review of legal sufficiency and advising on policy and statutory enforcement issues
- Informing staff of changes in legislation
- Defending litigation claims, suits brought against the School Board
- Conducting pretrial discovery
- Preparing pleadings, motions, and briefs for litigation
- Preparing for and appearing in ESE due process hearings and student expulsion hearings
- Preparing for trial, arbitrations, and appeals; conducting trial and appellate advocacy
- Providing advice to school administrators about critical matters such as custody disputes on campus
- Advising school administrators about discipline of students for misconduct that has already occurred
- Pursuing and processing garnishments and collections
- Providing advice to District administrators regarding personnel problems that have arisen or investigations in progress
- Making recommendations to Purchasing concerning contract disputes, debarments, and terminations
- Assisting with public records requests involving matters in litigation
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