School Law

Minnesota’s Best School Law Firm

SW&M lawyers are hired by school boards to represent their Minnesota or western Wisconsin school districts, charter schools, and private schools in legal matters. Our legal services include advising on legal and policy matters, conducting investigations, reviewing & drafting contracts, litigation, and more.

Quality, Experience, Results

  • Board governance
  • Open Meeting Law
  • Minnesota Government Data Practices Act
  • Policy review and drafting
  • Contract review and drafting
  • Joint powers agreements
  • Election law
  • School district consolidations
  • School closings
  • Constitutional issues (free speech, due process, religion, search and seizure, and equal protection)
  • Conflict of interest issues
  • Charter school law
  • Charter school board training on board governance & employment
  • In-services and training on general legal issues
  • Litigation
  • Title IX
  • Day-to-day advice on the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), Section 504, and relevant Minnesota laws
  • Responding to Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaints
  • Due process hearings
  • Section 504 hearings
  • Litigation
  • Discipline of Special Education students
  • Individual Education Program (IEP) Developments
  • Training for general and special education staff on legal compliance with special education requirements
  • Contract review, including AIA documents and energy efficiency contracts
  • Bid law
  • Best value purchasing
  • Land purchase and sale
  • Eminent domain
  • Leases and lease purchase agreements
  • Environmental issues
  • Recreational use agreements
  • Arbitration
  • Litigation
  • Drafting and review of employment contracts
  • Drafting and review of personnel policies and employee handbooks
  • Wage and overtime issues (Fair Labor Standards Act)
  • Leave issues (Family Medical Leave Act, Pregnancy and Parenting Leave Act)
  • Employee accommodation issues (religious and disability)
  • Constitutional issues (free speech, religion, due process, equal protection)
  • Drug & alcohol testing, including Federal Department of Transportation requirements
  • Veterans preference hiring issues and hearings
  • Negotiating collective bargaining agreements
  • Interpretation of collective bargaining agreements
  • Unit clarification hearings
  • Grievance arbitrations
  • Interest arbitrations
  • Teacher Continuing Contract Law & Teacher Tenure Act
  • Employee discipline
  • Discharge hearings
  • Responding to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Minnesota Department of Human Rights complaints (MDHR)
  • Lay offs & employee restructuring
  • Investigations
  • Litigation