Overview

Lisa is an attorney with Walter | Haverfield in the Education group. She focuses her practice on providing general counsel to school districts in personnel and student matters, including discipline, special education, records, board policies, collective bargaining agreements, arbitration, residency and custody disputes, social media, Constitutional rights, and discrimination concerns. Lisa is also co-host of the podcast, “Class Act: Updates in Education Law,” which covers legal topics relevant to school districts, board of education members, administrators, teachers and parents.

While attending Cleveland-Marshall, Lisa was a judicial extern to the Honorable Kenneth S. McHargh in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Prior to her legal career, Lisa worked as a school psychologist in Ohio and Arizona, both in public school districts and charter schools, with student caseloads ranging from preschool through high school and a large range of special education services delivery models. She has been a member of numerous leadership committees within those school districts, including involvement in the development of a new school-wide discipline policy and procedures. She also has additional training related to autism, including ADOS administration and Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy.

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Experience

EDUCATION – GENERAL COUNSEL SERVICES

• Assists with representation of school districts involved in litigation filed in state and federal court.
• Advises school districts regarding legislative interpretation, implications, and updates.
• Advises school districts regarding issues impacting school districts including liability waivers, arbitration, confidentiality, student travel, ethics, transgender students, food allergies, home school requirements, and IAT/RTI guidelines.
• Assists school districts with policy review, development, and application.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

• Counsels school districts regarding special education laws, regulations, and procedural compliance.
• Represents school districts in special education due process and state complaints, including responses, investigations, interviews, pleadings, effective mediation resolutions and hearings.
• Completed special education process case assessments for school districts including review of documents for compliance and legal defensibility.
• Attends IEP and ETRs meetings in contentious situations.
• Represents districts in situations involving development of IEPs, IDEA procedural compliance, FAPE, Child Find, Section 504, student discipline, residency and custody issues, among others.
• Reviews school district’s policies regarding special education and response to intervention as well as assisted school district team in developing compliant policies and procedures.

EDUCATION – LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

• Counsels school districts regarding employee conduct, responsibilities, and contract issues.
• Counsels school districts regarding employment and personnel issues, including discrimination claims, discipline, FMLA, and ADA implications.
• Drafts memorandums of understanding and resolutions for school districts regarding bargaining unit agreement terms, employee issues, etc.

SUNSHINE LAW & PUBLIC RECORDS

• Assists school districts with voluminous public records requests management and response, including compliance and appropriate denial of requests.
• Advises school districts on compliance with Ohio Public Records Act.

STUDENT ISSUES

• Counsels school districts regarding student enrollment concerns.
• Advises school districts regarding student conduct and discipline, including legal and policy compliance and procedures.
• Represents school districts in discrimination complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights.
• Counsels school districts regarding implications and applications of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and student privacy concerns.
• Assists school districts with voluminous student records requests management and response, including compliance and appropriate denial of requests.

EDUCATION – COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

• Assists school districts with interpretation, application, and administration of collective bargaining agreements.
• Develops collective bargaining agreement provisions for school districts.
• Responds on behalf of school districts to unfair labor charges filed with the State Employment Relations Board.

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

• Counsels clients regarding employee conduct, responsibilities, and contract issues.
• Counsels clients regarding employment and personnel issues, including discrimination claims, discipline, FMLA, and ADA implications.
• Responds to public agency requests regarding employer separation information.
• Reviews and analyzes employer requirements to use state programs such as the Ohio Rapback System.

Recognition

• Recipient of Law Justice Scholarship, The Professor Theodore Dyke Scholarship Award (Labor and Employment Law Scholarship), and Carroll H. Sierk Award for Outstanding Evening Student in Taxation I Course
• CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Disability Law and Taxation I

Articles

• Ohio H.B. 164 Provides School Districts Some Relief from Anticipated 2020-2021 Third Grade Reading Guarantee Impact
• Sexual Harassment and Discrimination in Schools: New Title IX Regulations Issued by U.S. Department of Education
• Ohio’s “Stay At Home” Order and Its Impact on Schools
• Students with Disabilities and Team Considerations During the COVID-19 Crisis
• COVID-19 and ESEA School Assessment Obligations
• Ohio School Truancy: Excessive Absences No Longer Include Medically Excused Absences
• Potential Consequences for Alternate Assessment Noncompliance
• First FDA-Approved Cannabidiol Medication Creates Confusion for School Districts
• New Ohio Law Changes Student Discipline Procedures and School Resource Officer Requirements
• Trump Administration Withdraws Transgender Guidance
• Transgender Student Case Makes Its Way To The United States Supreme Court

Presentations

Lisa routinely provides training for administrators and staff regarding legal updates, general education, and special education issues. Representative topics include:

• Student Discipline, Manifestation Determinations
• Student Accommodations: Disabilities, Religion
• Student Custody and Residency
• FERPA Compliance
• General Education and Special Education Case Law Updates

Associations

• Ohio School Boards Association’s Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys
• National Council of School Attorneys
• Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Alumni Association
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
• Ohio State Bar Association

Podcasts

 

View the latest episodes of  Class Act: Updates in Education Law