- School board legal compliance issues
- Administrative proceedings
- Policy
- Open Meetings Act
- Public Information Act
- Public relations
- Elections
- Redistricting
- Training
The firm is actively involved with the governing bodies of local governmental entities, including school boards and administration, advising and assisting in all governance matters. Attorneys frequently review board agendas to ensure compliance with all legal requirements and attend or participate in board meetings. We supply counsel on matters involving compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Texas Public Information Act, grievance procedures, contract negotiations, nonrenewal proceedings, employment, terminations and discipline hearings.
In the school law arena, members of the firm often are enlisted to review and comment upon policies issued by the TASB Policy Service, and, on occasion, we provide local alternative policy language to what TASB Policy Service provides. Personnel management is made easier with our Model Employee Handbook, Employee Contract Package, a Preventing Sexual Harassment video made for schools, and our Sexual Harassment Workbook for Substitute Teachers, Mid-Year Hires, Volunteers, and other materials. Our firm conducts investigations and also trains personnel in how to document and investigate.
Although all of our attorneys work daily with the administrative staffs of our clients, our true client is the board of trustees. Through our accredited trainings for school board members and attendance at board meetings, we strive to educate and counsel our clients on governance matters and policy, and steer them clear of potential pitfalls and legal compromises. We know it is not always easy for board members to keep up with the law, so we publish a Trustee Manual and President’s Pocket Guide not only to assist board members in understanding their duties and responsibilities but also to provide a useful and practical guide when deliberating issues. We also provide our clients with Board Minutes, our bi-monthly publication on timely topics for school boards.
Our firm also provides legal opinions, policy and procedure audits, and counsel on election laws, intergovernmental agreements, and governmental immunity.
Our attorneys are available for administrative proceedings, including grievances, employment disputes, nonrenewal and termination hearings, student discipline cases, civil rights issues, and special education matters. Eichelbaum Wardell is experienced in representing Texas school districts before the Commissioner of Education, Independent Hearing Examiners, and the University Interscholastic League. We also represent school districts and other employers before the Texas Workforce Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor.
