Osborn Maledon’s education practice is centered on our extensive experience representing and providing legal advice to public and private universities, community colleges, charter schools and school districts. We have a comprehensive understanding of the statutes, case law, regulations, and policies that govern Arizona’s public and private educational institutions, and we leverage that knowledge to provide clients with advice regarding their day-to-day operations, acting as outside general counsel for many. Our education law experience includes representation of leading for-profit higher education providers in corporate, technology, regulatory and litigation matters. Our goal is to assist our clients in creating and implementing plans, policies and procedures that allow them to focus on the business of educating students, and when the need arises in adversarial situations, we use our depth of experience to advocate vigorously on behalf of our clients.
Our experience includes:
- Providing regulatory compliance advice to charter schools
- Advising schools on legal requirements for special education, including best practices for meetings, communication, and managing conflict, and representing schools in due process proceedings
- Representing clients in administrative matters before the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, and the Arizona Department of Revenue
- Representing educational institutions in litigation, including matters involving employment, contracts, public records requests, and constitutional questions, such as school access policies, school tuition policies, and issues related to religion in schools
- Advising clients on all aspects of Title IX compliance, including transgender legal issues, sexual misconduct and sexual harassment, and assisting with internal investigations related to Title IX.
- Providing Open Meeting Law advice and training
- Providing advice regarding the release of public records and assisting with records disclosures
- Advising clients on federal and state laws regulating the rights of access to and confidentiality of student records, including Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and A.R.S. § 15-141
- Providing advice regarding suspensions, expulsions and other student disciplinary matters
- Drafting and reviewing Intergovernmental Agreements
- Drafting employment agreements and providing other employment and termination advice
- Advising clients on state funding and other finance issues
- Drafting incorporation and governing documents for charter schools
- Advising major research universities on various matters relating to technology transfer and commercialization, joint ventures and other similar matters
- Advising for-profit education providers on technology acquisition, mergers and acquisitions and investment in new technologies
- Serving as outside general counsel to private edtech growth companies
Our education practice is led by Lynne Adams, who represented Arizona’s educational agencies as Chief Counsel of the Education and Health Section at the Attorney General’s Office from 1999-2003 and was a member of the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools from 2004-2010. Our team includes attorneys from diverse professional backgrounds with experience in the private and public sectors, including previous work as teachers, ensuring that our educational clients are supported by a broad and knowledgeable network. Our team also includes attorneys with technology skills and deep experience and connections in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is increasingly relevant to the evolving educational sector of our economy.