New York commits to the appropriate education of its K-12 school students and students up through the state's many fine colleges and universities. When you or your minor student attend a New York school, college, or university, you enter a highly regulated educational environment, all to assure you of your access to and enjoyment of a strong program. The New York State Education Department touts that it oversees “one of the most complete, interconnected systems of educational services in the United States.” However, no system is perfect, and New York students sometimes find their school violating their substantial state and federal education law rights. If you face education law issues at New York University, Columbia University, the University of Rochester, Stony Brook University-SUNY, Syracuse University, Baruch College, Barnard College, or another fine New York college or university, call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now to retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Education Law Team. We are also available to represent your minor student in any New York school district, including the New York City geographic districts and the East Williston Union Free School District, Syosset Central School District, Jericho Union Free School District, Roslyn Union Free School Districts, and other fine districts across the city and state.
Common New York Education Rights and Claims
You can trust our premier attorneys to exercise the strategic skills and deploy their substantial experience on your behalf or your minor student's behalf, as to the full spectrum of education law rights and claims under New York state law and federal laws applicable within the state. Our attorneys represent you or your minor student not only through the school's administrative procedures but also through state and federal agencies and in the state and federal courts. Here is an outline of the common rights and claims where we can help.
New York Disability Accommodations & Rights
Our attorneys can assist you at your New York college or university or your minor student at your student's New York K-12 school in disability rights and accommodations. Individuals with qualifying disabilities, including both physical and mental conditions, have the right under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to reasonable accommodations for equal access to educational services. Accommodations may include not only handicap ramps and accessible bathrooms but also sign language interpreters, optical character readers, service animals, modified schedules, seating, and lights, among many other things.
New York school districts generally recognize their ADA obligations to reasonably accommodate students. The New York State Education Department expressly asserts that it will respect and enforce ADA rights. New York schools at all levels must provide you or your minor student with reasonable accommodations for disabilities unless the accommodations would work an undue hardship on the school. New York University likewise recognizes its ADA obligations. However, you or your minor student may find your local school officials less willing to go to the time, trouble, and expense to carry out their ADA obligations. Retain us the moment you face any such difficulty. We can invoke school, state, and federal procedures and seek agency or court review and enforcement as necessary.
New York Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) & 504 Plans
Special education services are a closely connected right to ADA rights of reasonable accommodation. Special education services are available to New York K-12 students under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The New York State Education Department maintains an Office of Special Education to ensure that local school districts have the technical support and receive and properly implement the federal funding for special education services. If your minor student has a qualifying educational disability, your minor student's New York K-12 school should be providing special education services under an individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan. The IDEA law places the burden and expense on the school, not on you, to identify your student's disability and refer your student for professional diagnosis, evaluation, and service recommendations.
Our attorneys can appear on your minor student's behalf to advocate and negotiate with local school special education officials, including attending IEP and 504 plan meetings and appealing special education decisions through district procedures. We know who to reach and how to get their attention, citing their state and federal obligations. See, for example, the East Williston Union Free School District designation of a special education coordinator to ensure your student's support. Don't let your New York K-12 student go without the special education services your student needs to persevere, advance, and graduate with a good education. Get our skilled and experienced help.
New York School Discipline & Expulsions
School discipline, suspension, and expulsion are other areas where our attorneys can help. New York's colleges and universities, like Syracuse University, maintain student codes of conduct under which they charge and discipline students for academic and behavioral wrongs. New York K-12 school districts, like the Jericho Union Free School District, publish handbooks stating student conduct policies, the violation of which can result in suspension, expulsion, and alternative disciplinary placement in so-called reform school or boot camp. New York K-12 student conduct codes uniformly prohibit weapons, alcohol, drugs, gang activity, and other violent or endangering behavior in schools. New York's Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE) requires local school districts to implement those conduct policies to assure students of a safe school. New York colleges and universities publish similar student conduct codes under which they suspend and expel students facing misconduct allegations.
If you or your minor student face school disciplinary charges threatening suspension or expulsion, our attorneys can appear in your defense to invoke the school's protective procedures. You and your student have constitutional rights to due process, fair notice, and a fair hearing before an impartial decision-maker. New York laws, rules, and regulations carry out those rights. For example, Section 2801 of New York's Education Code provides for fair procedures relating to school suspensions and expulsions. Our attorneys know how to protect your rights by deploying those protective procedures. We can often advocate and negotiate with school officials for early dismissal of the charges in favor of remedial measures, but we can also invoke formal hearing rights and even seek court review and reversal of suspensions and expulsions that violate due process rights.
New York School Bullying & Harassment
Bullying, harassment, hazing, and other forms of intimidation are other common problems in New York 12 schools, as in schools in other states. Your minor student has the state law right to attend a safe school, free from acts and threats of violence. New York's Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE), already mentioned above, requires schools to adopt and implement a school safety plan to prevent and address violent acts. New York's Dignity for All Students Act reinforces the obligation of the state's K-12 schools to prevent bullying, harassment, hazing, and intimidation. Your student also has the protection of federal Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IX addresses sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking, requiring schools at all levels to adopt and implement Title IX policies like the one at the University of Rochester.
Our attorneys have substantial experience both gaining our client's relief from school bullying, harassment, hazing, and other intimidation and defending students against Title IX and other harassment charges. We can also help you or your minor student obtain a monetary recovery for violation of your Title IX and other rights due to the school's deliberate indifference to these wrongs. Damages awards and settlements in these cases can run into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Don't let your minor student become a victim. Let us help enforce these important protective rights.
New York School Discrimination Cases
You and your minor student also have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination in your enjoyment of New York educational programs. New York's Dignity for All Students Act includes the obligation of the state's K-12 schools to prevent unlawful discrimination. The New York State Division of Human Rights pursues enforcement actions against schools discriminating based on a student's age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, race, color, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reinforces the prohibition of sex discrimination in schools. The New York City public schools expressly recognize their Title IX obligations not to discriminate based on a student's sex.
New York anti-discrimination laws prohibit discrimination not only in school admissions, advancement, and graduation but also in school co-curricular, athletics, and other program participation, as well as in school discipline. Our attorneys can help you and your minor student enforce these anti-discrimination rights through school procedures, into state and federal agencies, and beyond into the state and federal courts. Both injunctive relief and monetary recoveries may be available. Let us help ensure your equal access and anti-discrimination rights.
New York Student Rights & Free Speech
New York K-12 schools, colleges, and universities must also respect students' First Amendment free speech rights. Supreme Court decisions like Tinker v Des Moines, Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier, and Morse v Frederick have recognized both injunctive relief and monetary recoveries for students suffering violation of their First Amendment rights. That binding precedent permits New York school officials to restrict student free speech only when first showing that the speech materially and substantially disrupts education. New York's public K-12 schools and colleges and universities must accordingly recognize student free speech rights. Even New York private colleges and universities tend to recognize and assure students of free speech rights, although not technically required under the First Amendment to do so. See, for example, Syracuse University's commitment to respecting students free speech rights.
Free speech rights are not your only civil rights on campus. New York public K-12 schools, colleges, and universities must also recognize Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. You and your minor student also have Fourteenth Amendment due process rights when facing school removal. Our attorneys can not only seek administrative relief from school violations of these rights but also pursue recovery from money damages and court injunctions. Let us help you and your minor student preserve all rights and pursue all claims for their violation.
Enforcing Your Education Law Rights
Do not retain unqualified local criminal defense counsel, civil litigation attorneys, real estate attorneys, or business attorneys to pursue your education law rights and claims. The substantive law and procedural rules for court and business matters differ from education law and academic administrative procedures. New York school officials also follow different customs and hold different norms and expectations as to appropriate dispute resolution. If your unqualified local attorney comes in, raising a racket and banging on the table, you may lose the opportunity for a prompt and effective negotiated resolution.
Our attorneys have the substantial education, law knowledge, academic and administrative skills, and experience to gain your best negotiated or litigated outcome. We can appear on your behalf to communicate and advocate for prompt informal relief. We can also invoke your formal hearing rights and appear and advocate at the hearing. We are available to pursue your appeal rights if you have already lost your hearing. We may also be able to negotiate alternative special relief through the district, college, or university general counsel or other oversight office. Our attorneys can also litigate your education law issues in the state and federal courts. Let us help you exhaust all avenues for relief until we achieve your best possible outcome.
Premier New York Education Law Attorneys
If you or your minor student face education law issues at a New York K-12 school, college, or university, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Education Law Team to pursue and enforce all claims and rights. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now for our strategic and effective representation.
