Attorney Profile

Rhonda Crass

Rhonda Crass is a founding partner of Leasor Crass, P.C., where she has built a reputation as one of Texas’s most respected and sought after voices in school law. Her practice spans the full breadth of issues that arise in the administration of public schools, with particular depth in special education, Section 504, personnel matters, student issues, governance, and Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act compliance.

Rhonda’s path to school law is uniquely her own. She began her career as a classroom teacher, instructing mathematics in Pleasant Grove ISD and Mesquite ISD. She is the daughter of a retired school superintendent and is married to a former superintendent, giving her a perspective on the demands of school district leadership that few attorneys can match. That combination of educator experience and lifelong proximity to school district administration informs every aspect of her practice. Rhonda understands not only what the law requires, but how legal advice translates into the reality of running a campus, leading a department, or governing a district. Her counsel reflects an acute awareness of the political and public dimensions of school district decision making, allowing her to advise clients in a way that protects both their legal position and their standing in the community.

Rhonda’s contributions to special education law have earned recognition well beyond the courtroom. She has developed comprehensive training materials and operating procedures for school districts to implement with their Section 504 students, including a Training Manual that has been favorably referenced by the Office for Civil Rights in published findings. Over the past several years, she has delivered hundreds of hours of special education and Section 504 training to school districts across the state, helping districts treat students and staff fairly while substantially reducing their exposure to claims of prohibited discrimination.

Rhonda is a frequently requested speaker on school law topics both statewide and nationally, and she contributes regularly to professional publications. Her in-service training programs for Texas school districts are widely recognized and highly regarded, covering topics such as Section 504, special education and the ARD process, personnel documentation, effective personnel evaluations, handling grievances from start to finish, school board governance, and administrator training. Whether she is presenting to a packed conference room or working one on one with an administrator on a difficult issue, Rhonda brings the same combination of substantive expertise, practical judgment, and genuine care for the educators and students she serves.