Education Law
Strickland Brockington Lewis has more than a quarter century of experience representing educational institutions, including private colleges and universities, public school systems, charter schools, private elementary and secondary schools, and university affiliated foundations. Our lawyers provide advice, counseling and training in all situations that arise on campus or at school:
- Accreditation
- Student discipline
- Faculty and staff hiring
- Promotion
- Compensation
- Evaluation
- Demotion
- Termination
- Tenure
- Teacher discipline
- Charter applications
- Education management agreements
- Immigration
- FERPA
- Clery Act licensure
- Employment contracts and appointment letters
- Distance learning
- Record retention
- Academic freedom and academic integrity
- Student housing contracts
- Financing and bonds
- Board governance
- Formation of nonprofit affiliated foundations
- Financial aid regulations
- Real estate and corporate transactions
- Constitutional issues
- Risk management
- Study abroad programs
- Athletics
- Employment discrimination
- Harassment
- Accommodation of disabilities
The firm's lawyers prepare and interpret policies and procedures governing student disciplinary hearings, academic review hearings, and faculty and staff grievance hearings, as well as employment contracts and appointment letters. We also draft and interpret student handbooks, faculty handbooks, and personnel handbooks. We assist with the conduct of student disciplinary hearings, academic review hearings and faculty and staff grievance hearings, and represent public school systems in administrative hearings. We assist charter schools in their petitions and operations. We advise colleges and universities faced with thorny accreditation issues. Our lawyers have successfully challenged an accrediting agency's denial of a private university's accreditation. We secured injunctive relief restoring and continuing accreditation.
Our lawyers have successfully represented private colleges and universities, public school systems, and private schools in litigation brought by parents, applicants, students, graduates, faculty members and other employees. We regularly appear before administrative agencies such as the Office of Civil Rights, the U.S. Department of Education, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor, in state and federal courts, and in mediation and arbitration. Our experience includes cases alleging employment discrimination, violation of the Rehabilitation Act, harassment, violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, breach of contract, wrongful discharge, wrongful expulsion, violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, assault, battery, and tenure denial.
We have served as special counsel to foundations and limited liability companies at Kennesaw State University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, University of Georgia, Southern Polytechnic State University, Albany State University, Augusta State University, Medical College of Georgia, University of West Georgia, Valdosta State University, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Gordon College in connection with revenue bond financing for student housing at those institutions.