The Maryland School Law Deskbook is an accessible guide written by experienced education law attorneys, and published by LexisNexis in cooperation with the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE). It offers current and authoritative information on legal issues facing schools within the context of state and federal education law. This is the essential desk reference for Maryland's school administrators, school board members, superintendents, education professionals, and attorneys.
To purchase the Maryland School Law Deskbook, visit the LexisNexis Bookstore.
The Deskbook includes 17 chapters on key topics, including:
- Local School Board Roles and Responsibilities
- State Role in Education
- Federal Role in Education
- Budget and Finance
- Transparency
- School Facilities, Student Transportation, and Health and Safety
- Employee Relations and Rights
- Employee Discipline and Dismissal
- The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
- Tort, Liability and Insurance Issues
- Student Attendance, Instruction, and Records
- Student Discipline/Search and Seizure
- Student Speech, Press and Dress
- Church/State Relations and Equal Access Act
- Student Classifications and Diversity Issues
- Educating Students with Disabilities
- Public Charter Schools and Public SchoolAlternatives
About the Authors
Samuel A. Mathias serves as the Deputy Director of Association Programs for MABE. He is a graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and is a member of the Bar in the states of Maryland, Illinois, and New York. Sam is also a graduate of The Broad Residency in Urban Education, a master's program in educational leadership, and a graduate of New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He is a member of the Maryland Council of Local School Board Attorneys. Prior to joining MABE, Sam served for eight years in Chicago Public Schools' Office of Innovation & Incubation, and for five years as an Associate with the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
Edmund J. O'Meally is a member of the law firm of Pessin Katz Law, P.A. and teaches school law at Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College, and McDaniel College. Since 1986, Mr. O'Meally has represented school boards and superintendents in collective bargaining negotiations, employee discipline matters, discrimination litigation, First Amendment issues, special education hearings and litigation, construction and procurement issues, Public Information Act and Open Meetings Act compliance, sports injury litigation, student suspensions and expulsions, sexual harassment, and Title IX. He was a 1984 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law where he served as Executive Editor of the Maryland Law Review. Mr. O'Meally clerked for the judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upon his graduation.
Rochelle S. Eisenberg is a member of the Maryland law firm of Pessin Katz Law, P.A. She has practiced education and employment law in the public and private sectors since 1977, representing school systems and employers throughout the State of Maryland. She is a past President of the Maryland Council of School Attorneys, has taught at colleges and universities, and has provided over 250 seminars on school and employment law. Rochelle is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College of Education, and the Washington College of Law of The American University, where she was a member of The Law Review.
B. Darren Burns is a partner at the law firm of Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Scherr, LLP, representing local school boards and superintendents in numerous areas, including employee and student appeals, civil litigation, school construction, and procurement. He served for six years as in-house counsel for a Maryland school system, is a member of NSBA-COSA, and is the President of the Maryland Council of Local School Board Attorneys. He received his B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College, and his juris doctor degree from the College of William & Mary. He began his career as a judicial law clear for the Honorable Robert H. Heller, Jr. in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. He is a frequent speaker on school law issues, regularly handles cases involving all areas of general education, and is the Chair of the MSBA Construction Section Council.
To purchase the Maryland School Law Deskbook, visit the LexisNexis Bookstore.