Legal
The 2021–22 school year was full of ups and downs, with many challenges confronting CSBA members. One bright spot in the year was the launch of CSBA’s District and County Office of Education Legal Services program at CSBA’s Annual Education Conference in December.
California school districts and county offices of education have long relied on CSBA’s guidance on legislation, policy and general legal matters. However, they have never been able to receive direct legal advice and counsel protected by the attorney-client privilege from the association. When questions came in calling for legal advice and counsel beyond general legal guidance, CSBA members were told to contact their legal counsel — a response that was neither satisfying for the inquirer nor the CSBA attorneys eager to serve our members. Under the direction of CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy, staff began to research what other state associations offer and Billy proposed the new Legal Services Department to the association’s Board of Directors, who approved the new initiative as a way to provide important and direct services to members. With the arrival of Legal Services, CSBA members can now receive even more benefits from our legal team than ever before.
“What is really exciting about Legal Services is the more it grows, the more our members benefit,” said CSBA’s Chief Legal Counsel Bob Tuerck. “CSBA is a statewide association offering many services to our members. As such, we are uniquely positioned, without infringing on any privileges or compromising the confidentiality of our clients, to identify trends developing in the field of education. This enables us to connect client issues from across the state with CSBA’s advocacy, training and other resources to both help our current clients and also stave off future issues for our CSBA members.”
For example, when the omicron variant caused a surge in COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the year, the work Legal Services did for client districts helped spur a webinar from the California Department of Education that benefited local educational agencies statewide. Similarly, after advising a client district through a separation with its superintendent, Legal Services was able to connect the district with executive search services to help them find a replacement.
To date, Legal Services has counseled clients with myriad issues, including student and staff discipline, agenda preparation and Brown Act compliance, special education, insurance claims, contracts, Title IX investigations, mediations, policy interpretation and superintendent dismissals.
The need for Legal Services is clear. Even without the challenges of COVID-19 and today’s seemingly ever-changing legal landscape, situations requiring legal advice and counsel are the daily reality in the complex world of public education.
“I frequently got asked legal questions when I was in private practice and serving as a trustee because it was more convenient and less expensive to ask me on the spot than to call district counsel,” Tuerck said. “Of course, I couldn’t give advice because I did not represent the district. But now CSBA can offer that same convenience to our members, with the added benefit that the fees get reinvested in services for our members throughout the state.”
Introducing CSBA’s new senior Legal Services attorneys, Maryela Martinez (left) and Alex Worthy (right).
The Legal Services program also opens up new opportunities for partnerships and collaborations. For example, the team collaborated with a district client and their local SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area) this past summer to present information on special education to a consortium of districts.