CESAs

Our school law practice includes counseling school districts, colleges, and Cooperative Education Service Agencies (CESAs) throughout Wisconsin. The firm has served as legal counsel to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Inc. (WASB) for over fifty-five years and has represented many public school districts, CESAs, charter schools, and technical colleges as designated general counsel on a continuing basis or on specific matters.

Employee Issues

Labor Relations

  • Collective Bargaining
  • Costing
  • Contract Administration
  • Representation Elections
  • Grievances
  • Prohibited Practices

Employment

  • Employee Handbooks and Policies
  • Discipline and Termination
  • Evaluations
  • Performance Improvement Plans
  • Teacher and Administrator Contracts and Nonrenewal
  • Wage and Hour Laws
  • Harassment and Discrimination Claims
  • Family and Medical Leave Act
  • Unemployment Compensation
  • Workers Compensation
  • Employee Benefits
  • Affordable Care Act

Student Issues

Student Discipline

  • Suspensions
  • Expulsions
  • Threat Assessment

Student Services

  • Homelessness/ McKinney-Vento Act
  • Truancy
  • Food Allergies
  • Title IX/Title VI
  • Crisis Team

Special Education

  • IDEA
  • Section 504/ADA
  • IEPs
  • Policy Development
  • Behavior Intervention Plans  
  • Seclusion and Restraint
  • Mediation/Facilitated IEPs
  • IDEA State Complaints
  • Due Process Complaints
  • OCR Complaints

Student Athletic Code

  • Development
  • Enforcement

Board Issues

Board Meetings

  • Open Meetings Law Issues
  • School District Annual Meetings
  • Special Meetings
  • Powers and Duties of School Boards

Boardsmanship

  • Conflict of Interest
  • Code of Ethics

Records Requests

  • Open Records
  • FERPA
  • HIPAA Issues

Elections and Referenda

  • Referenda
  • Board Elections

In-service Education

  • Monthly Newsletters entitled “For Your Information”
  • Annual School Law Seminar for Client Administrators and Board Members
  • Regular contributions to state and national journals, including the firm’s popular “Legal Comment,” which has appeared monthly in the WASB Wisconsin School News since 1961

Business Issues

Technology Issues

  • Website Accessibility
  • Social Media
  • First Amendment Issues

Intellectual Property

  • License Agreements
  • Copyright Registration
  • Copyright Enforcement and Defense
  • Trademark Counseling

Commercial Contracts

  • Transportation Contracts
  • Energy Performance Contracting
  • Vendor Contracts

Real Estate

  • Site Acquisition
  • Building Contracts
  • Easements
  • Use of School Property
  • Leases
  • Architect Agreements

School Finance

  • Borrowing
  • Budget Hearings and Tax Levy
  • Revenue Laws and Limits

District Issues

District Reorganization

  • Boundary Adjustments
  • Apportionment of Assets and Liabilities

Open Enrollment

  • Policy Development
  • Determining Open Seats
  • Appeals

Charter Schools

  • Establishment
  • Revocation
  • Governance

Litigation

We litigate matters related to all of these services in front of:

  • State Courts
  • Federal Courts
  • Administrative Agencies