Leasor Crass advises school districts in personnel and employment law. We routinely review and draft employment contracts, including probationary, term and continuing contracts, superintendent contracts, and advise clients regarding reassignment, resignation, termination, non-renewal and separation agreements. Our attorneys also advise and represent districts in employee claims of age discrimination, racial discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, violation of whistleblower law, wrongful termination, wage and hour issues, and breach of contract.

Our team of attorneys also represent school districts at all levels of personnel grievances, issues involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, employment benefits, workers’ compensation, remediation, suspension, evaluation and appraisal, certification requirements, professional immunity, and responses to requests for information in an employee’s file.

Additionally, Leasor Crass’s attorneys assist clients in any investigation involving the Office of Civil Rights, Texas Commission on Human Rights, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Our attorneys can assist clients with complex business decisions and proactive planning to prevent legal disputes with regard to facilities and contracts. The legal team at Leasor Crass is well-versed in handling the following:

Procurement
General Business Contracting
Construction Procurement and Contracts
Purchase of Property
Sale of Property
Annexation/School Boundary Changes
Contract Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
Payment and Performance Bond Enforcement
Risk Management/Insurance Contract Evaluations

Leasor Crass represents Texas public school districts regarding the powers and duties of trustees individually and as a body, including the relationship between the board of trustees, the superintendent, and other employees. Attorneys also advise districts on issues of budgeting and spending; conduct of board meetings and of hearings and proceedings occurring during board meetings; consideration and drafting of policies; rights, limitations, responsibilities and liabilities of board members; management and personnel issues, including nepotism prohibitions, open meetings, and open records issues.

Leasor Crass can assist school districts and governmental entities at all levels of litigation, including:

• Hearings before local school boards
• Hearings before certified independent hearing examiners
• Hearings before the state’s special education hearing officers
• Contested cases and administrative proceedings at the Texas Education Agency
• Proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Civil Rights and the Texas Commission on Human Rights
• Litigation in state and federal courts
• Appeals in state and federal courts

Our team of attorneys are ready to assist clients in Special Education Matters and §504 matters, including:

• Claims by students with disabilities and their parents under IDEA and section 504
• Drafting shared services arrangements for special education cooperatives
• Representation at ARD meetings and mediations
• Hearings before the state’s special education hearing officers
• Preparing responses to TEA complaints
• Assisting with TEA and OCR investigations
• Preparing special education-related interlocal agreements

Our attorneys participate in student discipline hearings before Boards of Trustees, and advise building and central level administrators on matters of student discipline. Issues most commonly encountered include removal of a student from the regular educational program, suspension, expulsion and placement in an alternative education center or juvenile justice facility. The firm also drafts and reviews district policies, such as drug and alcohol use and mandatory/permissive expulsion.

Leasor Crass’s team of attorneys counsel districts with regard to the applicability of criminal law in the student discipline setting, discipline issues regarding special education students, requirements regarding notification and disclosure of student records to appropriate authorities, and handling requests for information from the media. The firm also advises and represents school districts in expulsion appeals to district court and other general litigation.

Additionally, the firm conducts in-service presentations for administrators, superintendents and board members regarding student discipline. Topics include legal issues involved in due process requirements, use of charge forms and notification letters, presentation of cases at building level and on appeal, presentation of cases before the board of trustees, and expulsion appeals to district court.