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.

Representation of Public University Foundation in Chemical Patent Matters
Represented a public university foundation in chemical patent matters, including a patent interference adverse to a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry.
Compliance Reviews for Private Student Loan Programs.
McGlinchey Stafford has conducted compliance reviews of private student loan programs in anticipation of a client’s public or private securities offering or other capital markets transaction in order to render legal opinions regarding compliance matters.
Support of Financial Services Clients Adding Private Student Loan Programs.
McGlinchey Stafford has supported a wide variety of clients entering the private student loan space for the first time. In that role, we have created the complete set of consumer documents as well as the transactional documents governing the relationship between the lender, the servicer, and other parties to the loan program. The loan programsMore
Development of Compliance Systems for Private Student Loan Lenders.
For several private student loan lenders, McGlinchey Stafford has developed the documentation and compliance systems required to support established private student loan programs. We have provided such support when clients have developed new loan products as well as when regulatory changes have required the adoption of new disclosure forms and the upgrade of their legacyMore
Due Diligence Reviews of Private Student Loan Companies and Portfolios.
McGlinchey Stafford has conducted due diligence reviews of private student loan companies and portfolios that our clients have considered purchasing. Those reviews include the in-depth analysis of compliance procedures, loan documentation, servicing procedures, and state licensing requirements applicable to the company or portfolio being acquired.
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

Why Equity Must Take Center Stage
Join attorneys from McGlinchey’s Labor and Employment group and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, for an interactive panel discussion about why organizations should go beyond diversity and instead focus on fostering equity.
The Fisher Memorial Program: Developing Changes in Forgiveness of Student Loan Debt
Kelly Lipinski (Cleveland) will participate in a panel discussion on developing changes in the forgiveness of student loan debt during the ABA Business Law Section Virtual Spring Meeting on April 21, 2021.
Higher Education Regulatory Roundtable
Arthur Rotatori (Cleveland) will moderate the "Higher Education Regulatory Roundtable" on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at the iiBIG Virtual Education Finance Symposium.
Webinar: Updates to the Paycheck Protection Program & Other Issues
Join us on Thursday, March 18 for the second installment in our 3-Part webinar series on the Paycheck Protection Program and formulate your game-plan before you apply for forgiveness.
Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines: An Employer’s Guide to the Perils, Policies and Best Practices
Mag Bickford (New Orleans) will present "Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines: An Employer’s Guide to the Perils, Policies and Best Practices" to the New Orleans Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on Tuesday, February 23, 2021.