Education | McGlinchey Stafford PLLC

A Business Approach to Education Law: Preparing Schools for Tomorrow

Our Education team has advised clients on some of the most pressing, novel, and complex matters facing educators today. Clients rely on our industry-leading knowledge of:

Alternative schools
Charter schools
Charter school management organizations
Civil rights and LGBTQ rights in education
Constitutional issues and court challenges
Early childhood education
Education funding and loan financing programs
Higher education
Private and parochial schools
Sex discrimination, harassment, and bullying
Virtual schools and online learning

We bring a rigorous business approach to the work we do for educational institutions, advising on a full range of:

Compliance and governance
Corporate transactions and M&A
Cybersecurity and cyberbullying
Data privacy
Employment and human resources
Financing
Insurance
Intellectual property
Litigation
Regulatory
Union issues and collective bargaining
White collar issues, including admissions irregularities

Persistence and a Lean, Long-Term Strategy Made the Difference in Opening the Way for Charter Schools in New Orleans
Where we started: When Hurricane Katrina devastated the City of New Orleans, it destroyed most of the city’s public-school buildings. The planned rebuilding of the city’s education system included a prominent role for charter schools – a watershed moment for primary and secondary education in Louisiana. Teachers’ unions opposed the plan because charter schools replacedMore
Deep Knowledge of Government Enforcement Practices Was Crucial in Defending University Accused of Discriminating in Admissions
Where we started: An elite university was rumored to be discriminating against certain students based on race, by holding them to higher college admissions standards than applicants of other races. The university found itself the subject of a private Title VI discrimination lawsuit and a potential separate federal government probe. Federal law permits the U.S.More

Contact your McGlinchey Education team for our latest insights about the following:

Unionization of charter schools. Teachers in at least five charter schools in New Orleans have demanded votes to unionize – with different outcomes – since the schools were created after Hurricane Katrina. Similar developments in other states could move more schools to unionized workforces – with new compliance burdens for school district administrators. Schools should engage in union awareness analyses – with a review of relevant labor and employment law – to determine what path is best suited for the school and all of its stakeholders.

Data privacy and student records. Cyber threats have pushed corporations to secure cybersecurity insurance – to mitigate their exposure in the event of a data breach. Schools face similar exposure and need to address it with the right insurance coverage.

Premises security and crisis preparation. Schools need to have in place not only policies regarding weapons, but plans to address reputation management, media, community, and parent communications before, during, and after any event, plus other issues in the event of a security breach.

Both Legal and Technical Prowess Required to Achieve a Positive Outcome in Patent Interference Challenge Involving Work by Nobel-Winning Scientist
Where we started: Our intellectual property lawyers represent a major university’s research and technology foundation, performing chemical patent work on its behalf. During the course of our work for the foundation, it encountered a patent interference challenge from another institution based upon work done by a Nobel-winning scientist. While our client maintained relationships with several otherMore
Deep Knowledge of Government Enforcement Practices Was Crucial in Defending University Accused of Discriminating in Admissions
Where we started: An elite university was rumored to be discriminating against certain students based on race, by holding them to higher college admissions standards than applicants of other races. The university found itself the subject of a private Title VI discrimination lawsuit and a potential separate federal government probe. Federal law permits the U.S.More
Defended Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System in multiple constitutional and statutory challenges to the funding of retirement systems and calculations of member benefits.
Dismissed on summary judgment a class action suit brought by school bus drivers against the Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System (LSERS). The lead plaintiff claimed that the manner in which retirement contributions are calculated for all bus drivers violated state law, and sought class certification of the issue. We argued that retirement contributions were properlyMore
Defended the State of Louisiana against constitutional and statutory challenges to its correctional systems.
Represented the State of Louisiana Department of Corrections in a class action brought by inmates of the Louisiana Department of Corrections claiming the mental health services provided were unconstitutional. Represented the State of Louisiana, Department of Corrections in a class action brought by juveniles and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that conditions of confinementMore
Establishing Permanent Funding for Charter Schools Required Defending New Orleans from a Constitutional Challenge
Where we started: The Minimum Foundation Plan is a method the State of Louisiana uses to fund public education. After the State and the City of New Orleans created numerous charter schools in Orleans Parish, teachers’ unions initiated a lawsuit alleging that The Minimum Foundation Plan was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs claimed that the charter schools wereMore
Iberville Parish v. Louisiana Department of Education
The Louisiana Supreme court upheld State funding to Charter Schools. View the opinion here.
Louisiana Supreme Court Issues Groundbreaking Decision on Public Education Funding, Handing a Major Victory to Students, Parents, and State School Board
Where we started: The Louisiana Constitution grants the legislature the power to pass laws to supervise, manage, and take over failing schools. The Louisiana legislature passed comprehensive laws defining failing schools and stating how they were to be handled. This resulted in the transfer of more than 100 schools in New Orleans to state control.More
Parents Against Testing Without Teaching v. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2000 31267 (5th Cir. 2001)
Jay O’Brien successfully defended the State Board of Education against constitutional challenges to Louisiana’s LEAP test. The LEAP test established minimum requirements for 4th and 8th grade students in order to obtain promotion to the next grade.
Persistence and a Lean, Long-Term Strategy Made the Difference in Opening the Way for Charter Schools in New Orleans
Where we started: When Hurricane Katrina devastated the City of New Orleans, it destroyed most of the city’s public-school buildings. The planned rebuilding of the city’s education system included a prominent role for charter schools – a watershed moment for primary and secondary education in Louisiana. Teachers’ unions opposed the plan because charter schools replacedMore

Is Political Speech Free Speech in the School Setting?
With a particularly contentious election season at fever pitch, many school administrators long for an educational atmosphere completely void of potentially controversial speech, but a quick glance at the First Amendment should quash dreams of being able to prohibit all political speech in the school setting.
63 McGlinchey Attorneys recognized in Best Lawyers in America® 2021
McGlinchey proudly announces that 63 attorneys have been recognized in 42 practice areas across 12 offices in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Inaugural Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, including 47 listed by Best Lawyers, 4 designated as “Lawyers of the Year,” and 16 recognized in “Ones to Watch.".
McGlinchey Launches Podcast That Brings You “More”
McGlinchey Stafford is pleased to announce the launch of its podcast, “More With McGlinchey,” available now where you listen to podcasts. “We know our clients look to us to cut through the noise in distilling the issues that matter to them,” said Rudy Aguilar, McGlinchey’s Managing Member. “We’re committed to providing information where our audienceMore
COVID-19 and School Safety—Preparing for Widespread Illness in Your School
Mag Bickford and Kathy Conklin (New Orleans) co-authored an article for Law.com’s The Legal Intelligencer addressing some of the best practices for educators to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as they return to the classroom. “As we look to the upcoming fall semester and prepare for the future of education, what best practices must schoolsMore
FAQs from Coronavirus Employment Webinar (Part 2)
Below are the questions and topics from last week's "Coronavirus: Bring Your Employment Questions, Part 2” webinar, presented in a Q&A format. You should speak with an attorney to clarify these topics, as every situation is unique, but as an initial guideline, we’re happy to present the information below. We hope you find it useful.
FAQs from Coronavirus Employment Webinar (Part 1)
Below is a summary of the questions we received about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act during our Coronavirus: Bring Your Employment Questions Webinar (Part 1) on March 20, 2020. We have arranged these questions with the most essential details first.
McGlinchey Stafford Promotes Three New Members in 2019
McGlinchey Stafford PLLC is pleased to announce the promotion of three attorneys to Membership within the firm, effective January 1, 2019.
U.S. Fifth Circuit Holds that Louisiana Charter Schools are Subject to the NLRA
On September 21, 2018, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Louisiana charter school is subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) like most other privately controlled employers.
Louisiana Supreme Court Issues Landmark School Decision
The Louisiana Supreme Court issued a landmark decision on March 13, 2018, upholding the constitutionality of the allocation of state and local Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funding to New Type 2 charter schools pursuant to La. Const. art. VIII, § 13. Iberville Parish Sch. Bd. v. Louisiana State Bd. of Elementary & Secondary Educ., No. 2017-C-0257 slip op. (La. March 13, 2018).