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.