Education
Barnes & Thornburg serves as counsel to educational institutions of all sizes. Our attorneys advise on employment issues such as due process, tenure, constitutional and civil rights, terminations, discipline, evaluations, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, leave, accommodations, benefits and compensation, teacher and administrator training, and collective bargaining and grievance.
Our attorneys serve as trusted advisers to countless college and university presidents and senior administrators. We understand the enormous scrutiny under which educational organizations must operate as they deal with matters that can become highly publicized and with potentially devastating effects upon public and private supporters.
As schools are the bedrock of their communities, our team helps keep them operationally and fiscally sound. We work with clients to prepare and file applications for charter schools and advise on compliance matters involving state and local regulators, nonprofit status and incorporation documents. We advise on authorizer requirements, as well as work with authorizers to develop processes related to charter schools. We assist in the creation and development of partnerships that serve the needs of students at all levels, and have negotiated school innovation network agreements.
We also guide clients through matters involving school board structure and policies, curriculum development and compliance, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Indiana’s Article 7. In addition, we support successful school operations by providing legal counsel pertaining to financing, real estate, construction, leasing, software licenses, equipment purchase, intellectual property ownership and commercialization, dispute resolution and litigation, joint efforts with the local community, and public affairs, government relations and lobbying.
School systems across the country call on our skilled attorneys to guide them through the more sensitive challenges educational facilities face, such as abuse, bullying, corporal punishment, special education, safety, expulsion, suspension, athletics, drug testing, education records and constitutional and civil rights.
Expanded Capabilities
In addition to the services described above, the practice advises educational institutions and education-related organizations on student lending and tuition financing programs, including private and supplemental student loans, income-share agreements, and related regulatory compliance, enforcement, and litigation matters. The practice also provides specialized counsel on accessibility and disability compliance, campus free-speech and media issues, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) considerations, and export controls affecting research institutions. Additional capabilities include public-private partnership (P3) and infrastructure projects, tax-exempt bond financings for educational facilities, intellectual property commercialization and technology transfer for universities and research institutions, and complex internal and governmental investigations involving students, faculty, and administration.