Syracuse Education Law Attorney
Being an education professional in New York is growing more difficult every year. Defending Central New York education professionals often requires more than a New York State United Teachers or United Federation of Teachers delegate overseeing your issue. At Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC, our Syracuse attorneys have gone one-on-one with school boards and hostile school district lawyers, all in the best interest of our clients. We have experience representing:
- Teachers
- Administrators
- Speech Therapists
- School Psychologists
- Teaching Assistants
- Resource Specialists
- Classroom Aides
- Librarians
- Bus drivers
Our Central New York and Syracuse education law attorneys are proficient in many facets of New York education law, including special education law, students’ rights, student discipline, teacher’s rights, and various additional topics that are associated with a quality education.
School districts may be held financially responsible in cases that involve discrimination, harassment, and the wrongful termination of New York educators. Under federal law, private and public school teachers have specific legal rights that prevent particular forms of discrimination. Tenured teachers at a public school are assured due process whenever accusations of ineptitude, unlawful conduct, neglect, or dereliction of duty come up regarding their performance. Both private and public school educators may not be denied a job or a promotion based on their age, race, gender, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation.
If you feel you have been wrongfully discriminated against by an administrator or school board, and, as a consequence, are in danger of losing your teaching job, it is necessary to contact an experienced education law attorney from Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC to assist and guide you down the path toward justice.
Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC has represented teachers and administrators in claims of wrongful termination, special education, and many other legal education matters with more than 50 combined years of legal experience in the field of education and employment law. We have helped many New York educators who have been wronged receive the compensation or job protection they are entitled to and we can help you with your legal matter too.
Know and Protect Your Rights
The 3020(a) hearing is being used now more than ever for firing education professionals that school districts do not approve of. New York educators can be set-up and strong-armed on contrived charges that are biased or based on obscure facts, dubious documentation, and the self-serving righteousness of school administrators.
As a matter of course, educators need to get in touch with their union representative in order to address any disciplinary actions or difficulties with school officials. Talking to a knowledgeable education attorney from Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC, however, is indispensable when your job is on the line.
The teacher’s employment agreement that incorporates most New York educators is incredibly lengthy and concerns everything, including:
- Grievances
- Teacher Training
- Absences
- Transfers
- Tenures
- Health Benefits
- Certifications
- Class Size
This means that schools have to be mindful of complying with the conditions outlined in the teacher’s employment agreement, as well as federal and state law.
Syracuse Special Education Law
A knowledgeable and competent New York education lawyer is able to assist parents who have children with unique educational demands. Students who have been recognized as having special needs that demand consideration exceeding what is given to general education students are protected by federal and state laws. Every single student is entitled to a “free, appropriate public education,” a legal phrase more generally known as a FAPE. If you feel that your child should be receiving specific services, the Committee on Special Education (CSE) is obligated to meet and examine your child’s situation. You, as a parent or legal guardian, may submit professional reports, like reports from a learning specialist, psychologist, behavioral expert, or other mental or medical health specialists.
The CSE is required to hear your case. If you do not agree with the provisions it allows, then you may appeal the decision. You are entitled to have a hearing in front of an unbiased hearing officer, who will review the CSE’s decision, including any evidence that you submitted and any other reports the CSE relied upon to help them make their judgment. From there, they will decide if the services that were provided were suitable. The hearing officer has the power to change the CSE’s decision, including private enrollment into an educational facility that will better meet your child’s unique needs. Your school district may be ordered to pay part or all of private school tuition and fees and may be ordered to compensate you for your reasonable attorney costs.
In some cases, a child has a limitation that is not technically educational in nature but rather a physical one that inhibits his or her ability to receive a proper education, like an inability to get up and down stairs or to be on-foot for long intervals. In these types of cases, federal law dictates that the school must implement an accommodation to the child that is fair and counterbalances his or her disability. An illustration of this would be when a child who has difficulty walking and, because of this, is unable to make it to school even though he or she lives too close to the school to merit a bus stop near their home. This particular child does not have any unique educational requirements but needs a special accommodation in order to be able to get to school. According to federal law, the school district could reasonably be expected to offer transportation to the child to and from school because of their disability.
If you feel that your child is not getting the complete educational advantage of the public school that they are attending, or you feel like your child needs special accommodations that their school does not currently have to give them, contact an education rights attorney at Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC today. We would be pleased to assist you in finding the best possible way of getting your child the support he or she needs from the public school system.
Get Experienced Legal Counsel – Call Our Firm Today
Working with Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC, you will benefit from our experience in educational law. You will speak one-on-one with a skilled attorney in Syracuse, New York that has the wisdom, understanding, and expertise that you need. We specialize in many different subsections of educational and employment law and can put our years of insight to use for you in your case. Contact the attorneys at Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC today to find out if you have the right to pursue a claim.