Counsel for the districts running Texas education.
School districts do not run on hourly retainers or generalist counsel. They run on board calendars, IEP windows, employment cycles, and procurement deadlines. We build counsel around the way districts actually operate.
Where a Texas district needs specialized counsel.
Special Education Compliance
IDEA, Section 504, FAPE matters. IEP and 504 plan disputes. Manifestation determination reviews. Due-process complaints. Mediation, resolution sessions, and impartial hearings before the Texas Education Agency. Our article on Child Find compliance covers the duty that runs before any dispute begins.
Board Governance
Open Meetings Act compliance. Public Information Act response. Board ethics, conflicts of interest, and recusal questions. Policy development and updates. Counsel during regular and special board sessions when matters become contested.
Employment & HR
Superintendent contracts. Administrator agreements. Title IX matters. Termination and non-renewal procedures. Grievance counsel under TEC Chapter 21. Employment policy review and revision.
Student Discipline
DAEP and JJAEP placements. Expulsion proceedings. Student code of conduct review. Manifestation determinations for students with disabilities. Threat-assessment and emergency removal counsel.
Public Records & PIA
Texas Public Information Act requests and responses. Attorney General opinion requests. Privacy carve-outs under FERPA and HIPAA. Redaction protocols for sensitive records.
Procurement & Contracts
Competitive procurement under TEC Chapter 44 and Government Code 2269. Construction contracting. Interlocal cooperation agreements. Vendor counsel and dispute resolution.
Counsel that runs at district speed.
Matter-by-Matter
For districts that need counsel on a specific matter: a Section 504 dispute, a board governance question, a specific employment situation. Flat fee on defined scope.
Outside Counsel Retainer
Monthly retainer for ongoing district counsel. Board meetings, day-to-day questions, policy review. Predictable monthly cost. We act as the outside general counsel.
Crisis Engagement
For districts in active dispute: a due-process complaint, an OCR investigation, a contested board action. Immediate response, structured engagement, defined scope.
From first call to closed file.
We move at district speed and tell you what is happening at every stage. Below is what a typical school law engagement looks like, week by week.
Scope and file audit
Initial consultation, document collection, conflicts check, written engagement agreement. We pull the existing student or personnel file, all prior correspondence, prior counsel work product where available, and the underlying campus or administrator records. The week closes with a one-page scope memo: what we are doing, what we are not doing, who is signing off on what, and what the deliverable looks like.
Legal analysis and recommendation
Statutory and case-law analysis specific to the matter. Memo to the superintendent or board with the recommended legal position, the exposure if the matter advances, two or three procedural paths forward, and our recommendation. Discussion call with leadership to lock the path before any external communication moves.
Active work on the chosen path
Drafting, correspondence, negotiation, hearing prep, or whatever the matter requires. Daily availability during active windows. Weekly status email to the district contact with what moved, what is queued, and what we need from the district side.
Documented close-out
Final agreement, hearing decision, written resolution, or whatever closes the matter. Closing memo to leadership documenting what happened, what the district is left with operationally (policy changes, training needs, file updates), and what to watch for in the next budget cycle. The file goes to closed status and the district retains a clean record.
The matters that come up most.
These five matter types account for the majority of the school law work we handle. Each has its own evidence file, its own statutory framework, and its own resolution pattern.
Section 504 and IDEA disputes
A parent or advocate disputes a 504 plan, an IEP, an eligibility determination, or a manifestation determination. We review the underlying evaluation file, identify procedural gaps the district can fix before the matter escalates, advise on the district's negotiating position, and represent the district through resolution session, mediation, and impartial hearing if the matter advances. Most matters resolve at or before resolution session when the file is clean. See our article on Section 504 versus IDEA for the framework distinction that determines which doors apply.
Board governance and Open Meetings
Open Meetings Act compliance review, closed-session script drafting, agenda template redesign, board member ethics counsel, recusal questions, and counsel during contested board action. Frequently engaged when a new superintendent is hired, when a contested item is on the agenda, or after a community complaint surfaces. See our article on Open Meetings Act traps for the three patterns that produce the most complaints. For trustees specifically, see the Open Meetings Act for school boards.
Administrator and teacher employment
Superintendent contract drafting and review, administrator contracts, non-renewal proceedings under TEC Chapter 21, termination for cause, leave-of-absence and accommodation questions under ADA and Section 504, grievance procedures, and Title IX matters affecting employees. We work the entire employment lifecycle from hire through separation.
Public Information Act response
PIA request analysis, redaction guidance, Attorney General opinion requests for protected information, FERPA and HIPAA carve-outs, and response counsel under the 10 business day window. We are positioned to turn around urgent PIA matters inside the statutory window, including weekend availability when the calendar requires it.
Procurement and contract counsel
Competitive procurement under TEC Chapter 44 and Government Code Chapter 2269, construction-manager-at-risk and design-build solicitations, interlocal cooperation agreements, vendor contract negotiation, and protest response when a losing bidder challenges a selection. We draft for the district's protection from day one rather than fixing it later in litigation.
To open a matter cleanly we ask for the same five inputs every time. None take more than a few minutes to assemble. With these in hand we can have the scope memo on your desk by end of Week 1.
- A one-paragraph description of the matter, the parties involved, and what the district wants the resolution to look like.
- Relevant correspondence from the past 90 days, including the originating letter, complaint, or grievance that brought the matter to the district's attention.
- The underlying file (student records for a 504 or IDEA matter, personnel file for an employment matter, agenda packet for a board matter, full PIA request and response history for a PIA matter).
- A single point of contact at the district authorized to make decisions on the matter (typically the superintendent, deputy superintendent, or special education director).
- Any deadlines the district is operating under (PIA window, IDEA timeline, board meeting date, OCR response date).
Go deeper on a specific matter.
- Texas Section 504 compliance counsel: evaluation files, dual-eligibility decisions, OCR complaint defense, and 504 audit protocols.
- Texas school board governance counsel: Open Meetings Act compliance, closed-session scripts, contested board action, superintendent search counsel.
- Section 504 versus IDEA: which framework controls: the eligibility distinction that determines which procedural doors apply.
A complimentary thirty-minute consultation.
Tell us about the matter. We will tell you whether it is something we handle, what the path looks like, and what counsel would cost.
Schedule Consultation