K-12 Public & Private Schools

Multidisciplinary team

• Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Governor of South Carolina
• Former teachers and university-level professors
• Real estate, tax, and finance perspectives
• Regulatory compliance experience
• Litigators to anticipate issues and successfully tackle disputes

Our clients are dedicated to educating children in communities across the U.S.

• Large- and medium-sized public school districts
• Charter schools, charter operators, and charter authorizers
• Private education service providers
• Non-profit boards
• Education executives

Nelson Mullins has the right experience to meet our clients’ specific needs 

Attorneys in our K-12 School Team include leaders in the field, as well as former educators, who bring an experienced and holistic perspective to representing the education industry. We work with elected officials, appointed trustees, superintendents, and others to help identify best practices and meet the challenges that are unique to educating America’s children.

Our attorneys are problem-solvers and problem-preventers to help you make timely, well-informed decisions affecting your schools and students

Facilities and Operations

• Technology issues
• Data security audits
• Construction agreements
• Construction claims and litigation
• Procurement – RFP drafting/bid protest defense
• Contract drafting and negotiation
• Leasing – including equipment and cell towers
• Special Referendum preparation and implementation
• Land acquisitions and use, including eminent domain

Governance and Policy

• Accreditation and school improvement
• Policy development and drafting
• Open Meetings/Open Records Act (Sunshine Laws)
• Charter schools and systems
• Governance training for Boards (governance vs. management)
• Elections, redistricting, and DOJ validation preparation and defense
• Intergovernmental agreements
• Finances, QBE, TANS, TADS, bonds

Labor and Employment

• Wage and hour issues (FLSA)
• Benefits/Affordable Care Act
• Executive compensation
• Workplace conduct training
• EEOC investigations, position statements, and defense
• FMLA
• Disability/ADA compliance and defense
• Workers Compensation
• Personnel policy drafting and review
• Employment contracts
• Employee misconduct
• Employee tenure disputes/administrative proceedings
• Training and compliance review regarding employee evaluations

Litigation

• Constitutional law (Free Speech, Religion, etc.)
• Civil rights and Title IX
• Discrimination claims

Special Education and Disability

• IDEA, ADA, 504 Laws and Regulations
• IEP disputes – due process hearings
• Student litigation

Students

• Title IX – drafting policies and procedures, training, compliance, investigation, and defense
• OCR and DOJ
• FERPA and privacy
• Code of Conduct
• Student-related Board policies
• First Amendment issues
• Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 
• Federal and state accountability 
• Student discipline hearings and appeals
• Bullying-cyberbullying
• Social media issues
• Parental rights/advocacy
• Constitutional Law (Free Speech, Religion, etc.)
• Early Learning Initiatives – for disabled and non-disabled students

Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

• Served as General Counsel for school systems totaling 250,000+ students and $2.5 Billion+ budgets
• Handled 250+ special education disputes before OCR, administrative agencies, and federal courts
• Served as lead counsel for prosecution of 150+ employee discipline matters arising from a widely publicized cheating scandal
• Managed and led the creation of the first large public charter system (100,000+ students)
• Obtained dismissal on behalf of our client in the trial court, affirmed at the United States Court of Appeals, and then successfully opposed a petition of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court by relying on a complex issue involving offensive nonmutual collateral estoppel