I served as General Counsel of the Vermont Agency of Education from 2006-2013. I therefore devote a significant portion of my practice to education law. While it is difficult to capture all of the areas that an education law practice entails, it certainly includes the following areas:
Special education dispute resolution (due process proceedings, mediation, audit appeals, and more);
Residency hearings and policy-creation at the local level;
Governance changes (REDs, MUUSDs, joint contract schools, SU collaborations, and more);
Contracts (including RFP and bid law issues);
School-related real property issues;
Public meeting law;
Election law;
Employment law;
Educator licensing (including provisional and emergency licenses);
Educator misconduct;
AOE waiver requests and appeals (residency appeals, tuition appeals, and more);
Appearances before the State Board of Education;
Rule waiver requests to the AOE or State Board of Education;
Development of district policies;
Staff training;
School health issues (school nurses, concussions, immunizations, allergies, and more);
Restraint and seclusion;
Discipline;
FERPA;
No Child Left Behind; and
IDEA.
I also serve as Vermont’s Military Compact Commissioner on a pro bono basis, so feel free to contact me, at no cost, with any questions regarding the children of military families.
I practiced law in Vermont for 25 years before serving as AOE General Counsel, and I therefore have a deep appreciation of Vermont legal practice, and a personal familiarity with many of the members of the Vermont bar.